FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, June 25, 2015

Contact:
Paul Logan
703-403-6464 (m)
p.logan@vachamber.com

Statement of Barry DuVal on Virginia’s Drop in the CNBC Top States for Business Ranking

RICHMOND – Virginia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Barry DuVal issued the following statement regarding CNBC’s recently released “Top States for Business” rankings, which show Virginia falling to 12th place. The rankings are available at http://www.cnbc.com/id/102576351

“Virginia’s fourth consecutive drop in the CNBC Top States for Business rankings reflects a troubling pattern for the economic climate in the Commonwealth. Virginia’s economy grew at a rate of 0.6 percent in 2011, 0.7 percent in 2012, 0.4 percent in 2013, and this past year our economic growth rate slowed to two hundredths of a percent. Forty seven states and Washington, D.C. grew at a faster rate than Virginia last year.

When the Virginia Chamber issued its Blueprint Virginia Business Plan for the Commonwealth two years ago, we laid out the areas that need to be addressed to compete with other states and other countries for jobs. We must improve our economic climate by diversifying and growing the Virginia economy, as called for in the blueprint. The Virginia Chamber will continue to engage the business community and work with lawmakers to implement those Blueprint Virginia policies and foster statewide, long-term economic growth.”

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is the largest business advocacy organization in the Commonwealth, with more than 22,600 members. The Chamber is a non-partisan, business advocacy organization that works in the legislative, regulatory and political arenas to act as the catalyst for positive change in all areas of economic development and competitiveness for Virginia.

ABOUT BLUEPRINT VIRGINIA:

Blueprint Virginia is a comprehensive initiative to provide business leadership, direction and long-range economic development planning for Virginia. For twelve months over 2012-2013, the Blueprint process engaged business and community leaders from around the state through grassroots involvement. Briefings were held in more than 30 communities where hundreds of Virginia citizens voted on priority issues for their region and the state. The Blueprint Virginia project collaborated with more than 300 organizations and over 7,000 participants to develop “A Business Plan for the Commonwealth,” which provides elected officials and private sector leaders with a roadmap for economic competitiveness.

More information regarding Blueprint Virginia is available at http://www.vachamber.com/blueprint-virginia-plan/