Business Leaders' new benchmarks suggest Michigan is far from a return to prosperity

By John Bebow | Published: March 18, 2010

In May, the Center for Michigan will publish the 2010 Michigan Scorecard — a report card on nearly 30 quality of life measures.

This week, Business Leaders for Michigan beat us to the punch — at least as it relates to economic measures — with their 2010 Economic Competitiveness Benchmarking Report.

BLM’s key conclusions this year:

  • Michigan’s economic performance has eroded significantly, with GDP growth over the past 18 months (-7.6 %) and June 2009 unemployment (15.2 %) last among all 50 states.
  • Michigan business climate fundamentals are uncompetitive, although underlying strengths exist. Michigan’s cost of doing business is 4 % above the national average, driven by corporate taxes and labor costg which are ranked 48th and 43rd in the nation, respectively.
  • A strong flow of college students (24 % more than North Carolina in per capita terms) and a high concentration of engineers (first among all states) provide assets for business attraction and expansion.
  • Michigan’s innovation and entrepreneurial environment has not yielded results comparable to leading states, although bright spots exist.
  • Michigan’s quality of life maintains strong fundamentals, but has a very poor perception. Michigan is at or above average in cost of living, health care, and education. However, Michigan’s crime rate and quality of life ratings are well behind comparable states’ leading cities.

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