New Jersey’s small business environment ranks second worst behind only California, according to a new report from Pacific Research.
The state ranks near the bottom in several key metrics, including workers’ comp and unemployment insurance costs, as well as minimum wage and family regulations.
“The purpose of the 50-State Small Business Regulation Index is to create a benchmark that facilitates the comparison of regulatory burdens across the states, and provide insights regarding how each state can enact pro-growth regulatory reforms,” said Dr. Wayne Winegarden. “The Index measures 14 regulatory components that are either positively or negatively associated with small business economic burdens and relates these burdens to the growth performance of small businesses across the states.”
Top states cited in the report included:
1. Indiana
2. North Dakota
3. Texas
4. Kansas
5. Georgia
6. Virginia
7. Mississippi/South Dakota
9. Florida
10. Missouri
Bottom states in the report included:
41. New York
42. Washington
43. Hawaii
44. Oregon
45. Maine
46. Vermont
47. Connecticut
48. Rhode Island
49. New Jersey
50. California
According to the report, to improve its ranking New Jersey, among other steps, would have to consider policies such as becoming a right-to-work state, reducing family leave mandates and reforming excessive workers compensation and unemployment insurance mandates.
