Raleigh Named Best Place for Business and Careers for Third Straight Year

Raleigh, NC, March 29, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Ken Atkins, executive director for Wake County Economic Development (WCED) (www.raleigh-wake.org), has announced that the Raleigh metropolitan area has been named the “Best Place for Business and Careers” for the third straight year by Forbes.com. The media outlet reviewed the 200 largest metropolitan areas in the United States and examined 11 different criteria: colleges, cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, culture and leisure, educational attainment, income growth, job growth, projected job growth, net migration and subprime mortgages. The Raleigh-Wake County region is strengthened by its strong job growth (both past and projected), low business costs and highly educated workforce. Forbes.com points out while Raleigh cannot fully escape the impacts of the current recession, it will be one of the places to lead the nation’s economic recovery. For the complete Forbes.com story and accompanying video, visit http://video.forbes.com/fvn/bizplaces09/best-places-for-jobs-business.

This recognition marks the seventh accolade Raleigh-Wake County has received in 2009. For a complete list of accolades, visit www.raleigh-wake.org/section/news-and-accolades.

“The Raleigh and Wake County region is a great place to live, work and play,” Atkins said. “We are honored to be recognized by Forbes.com as the number one place for business and careers for the third consecutive year. The strength of our workforce and job growth, combined with low costs of doing business, will be key factors as our region continues to grow.”

About Wake County Economic Development:
Wake County Economic Development (WCED), a program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, is the primary economic development organization for Wake County and its 12 municipalities. WCED hosts clients evaluating Wake County for possible facility locations each year and facilitates dozens of corporate expansions, resulting in new jobs and capital investment for Raleigh and Wake County. Services available to companies that are considering relocating or expanding in Wake County include economic and demographic research, site and building inventory searches, visitation itineraries, community tours, corporate executive and employee briefings, employee relocation assistance, and post-relocation services. In both 2002 and 2003, Site Selection magazine recognized WCED as one of the top ten economic development organizations in the United States. For more information about WCED, please visit www.raleigh-wake.org.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

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