NEW JERSEY — National ranking after national ranking seemingly puts New Jersey near the bottom when it comes to financial and business news. And this is, once again, the case with Forbes newest report. The American business magazine recently published its 14th annual "Best States For Business," and it wasn't very kind to the Garden State.

Forbes said in a news release that the rankings were calculated based on 40 metrics spanning six main categories: business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. And once again New Jersey found itself near the very bottom of this new list. For the record, New Jersey was ranked No. 39. The only states ranked worse than us include: Alabama, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Louisiana, Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia and Alaska.

There is a silver lining though: Our quality-of-life, according to this report is an outstanding fifth-best in the country. Here's the not-so-good breakdown for New Jersey:

Business Costs: 49

Labor Supply: 23

Regulatory Environment: 49

Economic Climate: 29

Growth Prospects: 30

Quality of Life: 5 The December report notes that New Jersey's economy is centered on pharmaceuticals, financial services, telecommunications, food processing and tourism. Despite the high living costs, New Jersey compensates by having one of the most educated labor forces, the report says. But, yikes. Forbes says this about New Jersey in its report:

"New Jersey scores poorly for its regulatory climate and fiscal health. Only Illinois has a worse rating on its general obligation debt than New Jersey's A3."



North Carolina ranked No. 1 on the annual list for a third year in a row, with Texas and Utah completing the top three.