In an unusual effort to rebut bad news on the jobs front, the Walker administration is speeding up release of new numbers showing job gains rather than job losses in Wisconsin last year.
The numbers come from a source familiar to many economists but one that hasn't figured until now in the state's highly politicized jobs debate heading into the June 5 recall election: the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
The new figures, provided to the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday, cover the final three months of 2011.
State officials said they show a gain of 23,321 jobs (public and private) between December 2010 and December 2011, which represents Gov. Scott Walker's first full year in office.Walker simply has no conscience. He cares only about surviving the recall election.
That stands in sharp contrast to a commonly used and widely reported monthly jobs measure, the Current Employment Survey, which earlier this year showed an estimated loss of 33,900 jobs in Wisconsin for the same 12-month period...
Secretary of Workforce Development Reggie Newson denied in an interview Tuesday that the early release of the data was an effort to shape public opinion before the June 5 election....
The early release amounts to a rare action that breaches tradition but doesn't violate any agreements between the bureau and the state, officials at the U.S. agency said Tuesday.
As I wrote last week:
Secrecy, Dishonesty At Center Of Walker's Performance, Recallability
Probably has a few more tricks up his sleeve before this is over.
ReplyDeleteYes, with Walker, it is political: "The argument put forth by Walker is that he has to get his budget in line. But Walker is lying. Statistically, whether it be Wisconsin, Ohio, Nevada, or New Jersey, union workers make on the average 6 percent less than their private sector counterparts. Also statistically, if you look at the budget of Wisconsin, the biggest savings have nothing to do with state workers or collective bargaining; by Walker’s own admission, he could save $165 million just restructuring the current debt. And we know this isn’t about money or savings to the state of Wisconsin or its citizens, it’s politics." -- Leslie Marshall, U.S. News blogger, radio host
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the analysis from the State Chief Economist was a lie too?
ReplyDelete