Data show Walker's WI could be headed for recession

[Updated] Right-wing GOP WI Gov. and honored champion of low wages Scott Walker 

should be run out of office for selling a third-term bid on the kinds of jobs and wages his 'leadership' has provided.

* The Journal Sentinel says today the overall data are so grim that experts let slip the "recession" word: 

Wages and employment fell sharply in 2016 in Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector, the biggest piston in the state’s economy, in a year that also saw the state’s weakest overall job performance since the 2008-'09 recession. 

The anemic jobs figures surprised economists at a time when the national economy evidently remains in expansion mode, and even have some beginning to wonder if a recession might be on the horizon.

“Wisconsin tends to slow and go into recession before the rest of the country,” typically with slumps in the state’s manufacturing economy, said Todd Berry, the group’s president. 

Bottom line:

Opponents and agendas need to stress that in Wisconsin, "W" must stand for wages. And water. Not Walker.

So look past the self-serving and selective spin he regularly posts on Twitter about trivialities and minutiae, and fight your way past his distracting drug-testing dog whistling and fake 'listening sessions' and consult actual numbers that do not lie:

*  He is still after more than six years in office more than 70,000 new jobs short of the 250,000 he repeatedly pledged to create after one four-year term, according to this Milwaukee Fox TV Channel 6 report:

The state numbers show that Walker remains far short of a promise he made during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign to add 250,000 jobs in his first four-year term. Over his first six years in office, Wisconsin has added 179,820 jobs.

The same story highlights the last dismal full year off which Walker's performance can be measured: 

Wisconsin added 11,590 jobs in 2016, according to data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which state officials have long considered the most accurate marker of Wisconsin's jobs picture. Over Walker's first five years in office, the state always gained at least 28,400 jobs per year, previously released data indicate.

*  And remember that before these stunningly bad numbers came out, Wisconsin had already recorded the largest decline of the middle class among all 50 states.

*  Which make sense when you also understand that most of the jobs which have been created in Wisconsin in recent years are clustered in low-wage categories.

*  And Walker has steadfastly refused to allow the minimum wage in Wisconsin to rise above the federally-mandated floor of $7.25 per hour, locking in poverty-scale wages for many state residents.

*  Also, on the subject of wages, note if you care to follow along these official data (the italics are mine) in a recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics report which show how stagnant things are here, with a few exceptions:

The numbers in these two categories stand out:

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in five of Wisconsin’s six largest counties were below the national average of $1,027 in the third quarter of 2016. As noted, Dane County ($1,032) had the highest average weekly wage in the state, ranking 98^th among the 344 largest U.S. counties. Waukesha ($1,006) and Milwaukee ($970) Counties placed 118^th and 153^rd, respectively.  

The state’s remaining large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Average weekly wages in Wisconsin’s smaller counties

Of the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000, Racine County had the highest average weekly wage at $896. Florence County had the lowest weekly wage at $528, followed by Bayfield at $542. (See table 2.)

When all 72 counties in Wisconsin were considered, 14 reported average weekly wages of $649 or lower, 29 had wages from $650 to $749, 18 had wages from $750 to $849, and 11 had wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 1.)

More from the federal report: 

Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the employment gains in four of the state’s large counties were less than the national increase of 1.7 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the six large counties in Wisconsin, employment was highest in Milwaukee (487,000) in September 2016, followed by Dane (330,700), and Waukesha (239,000). Each of the three other counties—Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago—had employment levels of less than 155,000. Collectively, Wisconsin's six large counties accounted for 49.5 percent of total employment within the state...

The average weekly wage in Dane County rose 10.1 percent from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016, the largest increase among Wisconsin's large counties, followed by Brown and Waukesha Counties at 6.7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. Dane County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,032, followed by Waukesha County at $1,006 and Milwaukee County at $970. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 5.4 percent over the year to $1,027 in the third quarter of 2016.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Two of Wisconsin’s six large counties recorded wage gains greater than the national increase of 5.4 percent from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016. (See table 1.) As noted, Dane County had the state’s largest average weekly wage increase, up 10.1 percent, and ranked seventh among the 344 largest U.S. counties. The over-the-year wage gain in Brown County, at 6.7 percent, ranked 79^th nationally. The four remaining counties had average weekly wage increases ranging from 5.2 to 4.4 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in five of Wisconsin’s six largest counties were below the national average of $1,027 in the third quarter of 2016. As noted, Dane County ($1,032) had the highest average weekly wage in the state, ranking 98^th among the 344 largest U.S. counties. Waukesha ($1,006) and Milwaukee ($970) Counties placed 118^th and 153^rd, respectively. The state’s remaining large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Average weekly wages in Wisconsin’s smaller counties

Of the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000, Racine County had the highest average weekly wage at $896. Florence County had the lowest weekly wage at $528, followed by Bayfield at $542. (See table 2.)

When all 72 counties in Wisconsin were considered, 14 reported average weekly wages of $649 or lower, 29 had wages from $650 to $749, 18 had wages from $750 to $849, and 11 had wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 1.)