Wisconsin's Number 2!...in job loss

This week's horrific Wisconsin jobs report showed 12,400 jobs lost in the state last month. 2/3 of these losses were in local government, reflecting the large amounts of teacher retirements and cutbacks resulting from Scott Walker's budget. (gee, who predicted that?)

But the jobs disaster goes much deeper than that. Since Walker's budget went into effect July 1, Wisconsin has lost 19,300 jobs, including 11,900 in the private sector. Especially bad in the face of the nation's increases of 287,000 total jobs and 352,000 private sector jobs. So the state is clearly going the wrong direction job-wise, but look at the numbers from all 50 states for a true Halloween fright.

Among all the states, Wisconsin has the not-so-coveted position of having the 2nd-most job losses by numbers and percentage in the country over the last 3 months.

Job losses - total June-September 2011
Georgia -20,800
Wisconsin -19,300
Illinois -16,100
Pennsylvania -15,600
New Jersey -11,000

Job losses by percentage June-September 2011
Rhode Island -1.22%
Wisconsin -0.69%
New Hampshire -0.57%
Georgia -0.54%
Delaware -0.41%
U.S. +0.22%

That brutal performance is recallable enough for Scotty, but there's even more to bring to the table on how bad a failure this Administration has been on the jobs front. I've frequently mentioned how Wisconsin weathered our economic disaster better than most places under Jim Doyle and the Dems. And even in Doyle and the Dems' final year, Wisconsin was close to the national trends.

Jan 2010 to Jan 2011 job growth
Wis. +0.93% private, +0.75% total
U.S. +1.22% private, +0.81% total

So yes, these job losses are all on Scott Walker and the WisGOP moves in the last 8 months. And while the 1st Quarter revenues held up surprisingly well, and are still within the budget's predictions, there is NO WAY that will continue with Wisconsin staying 49th in the country for jobs. Once the Brewer/Badger/Packer October stimulus effect goes away, watch for the budget deficits to open, and it will be the final straw to break the Walker Administration's back in Spring of 2012.