KENTUCKY RANKS 6th IN DEBUT OF SITE SELECTION COMPETITIVENESS AWARD

Frankfort, KY – A new benchmark now is in place that measures state economic development agencies' competitiveness – the most important factor in an agency's ability to attract capital investment and expand economic activity in the state. Kentucky was ranked 6th for 2002.

Open only to state-level economic development agencies, the Competitiveness Award is based on 10 quantifiable criteria for measuring business-expansion activity that took place in the previous calendar year.  

Projects qualifying for inclusion in the database meet one or more of these criteria: a minimum capital investment of $1 million, generation of 50 or more new jobs and new floor space of at least 20,000 sq. ft.

Among the 10 criteria used in the indexing system are four per capita measures. These help ensure that all states have the same shot at competing for the award. The criteria used are:

• Total new and expanded facilities per 10,000 population in 2002;
• Total capital investment in new and expanded facilities per 10,000 population in 2002
• Total new jobs created at new and expanded facilities per 10,000 population in 2002
• Total actual number of new and expanded facilities in 2002
• Percentage growth in new and expanded facilities from 2001 to 2002;
• Three-year growth change in new and expanded facilities;
• Ranking in Site Selections annual business climate survey;
• Number of top 100 metros in the annual ranking of top metros
• Number of top 100 small towns in the annual ranking of small towns; and
• Number of 100-plus-job projects per 10,000 population in 2002.

Site Selection (www.siteselection.com), a leading international economic development publication, annually tracks states' performances in economic growth and activity. The oldest publication in the field, Site Selection's yearly analyses are regarded by corporate real estate analysts as "the industry scoreboard".

"These rankings are the result of Kentucky's creation of a positive business environment," states Governor Paul Patton. " We believe that investing in our future is paramount in Kentucky."

"Kentucky's high ranking indicates clearly that corporate executives view the state as one of the country's top contenders for facility locations," said Gene Strong, Secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development. "We're gratified with the results. We've known all along that our strategy for creating more and better opportunities for our people is working. Now our success is being recognized nationwide."

The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development is the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and new investment in the state. New business investment in Kentucky in 2002 totaled more than $3.2 billion with the creation of nearly 13,000 new jobs. Information on available development sites, workforce training, incentive programs, community profiles, small business development and other resources is available at www.thinkkentucky.com.