Perry hits airwaves to make pitch to California businesses

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Radio listeners across California are hearing a new pitch with a Texas accent this week.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is inviting California companies to check out the low taxes, predictable regulations, fair legal system and skilled workforce that have made Texas the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family.

Texas Wide Open for Business , a site detailing the advantages of moving companies to Texas, recently launched a section comparing the nation's two largest states. The site points out California's cost of business sits at 6.3 percent above the national average while Texas' is at 4.6 percent below the average.

Texas also sits atop the list when it comes to job growth among the 15 largest states from Dec. 2011 to Dec. 2012. The Lone Star State's net job growth was just below 2.5 percent, while California ranked eighth at 1.6 percent.

The site also brings to attention the unemployment rate between the two states. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas ranked 16th in the nation, and lowest among the 10 largest states,  with a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in Dec. 2012.

California's unemployment rate checked in at 9.8 percent and ranked 49th. The national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.

According to the governor's office, the 30-second spot will run on six radio stations in the San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Inland Empire and San Diego media markets.

The one-week ad buy is paid for by TexasOne, a public-private partnership that markets Texas nationally and internationally as a prime business destination.