U.S. job revisions = Walker cost Wisconsin 39,000 jobs in 4 months

The number getting all the attention in yesterday's U.S. jobs report was the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6%. And while that's significant, it's also skewed by 315,000 people dropping out of the work force, and a very low 64.0% participation rate, so there's lots of work still to do.

Less mentioned was the total job increase itself. 120,000 were total jobs added in November and 140,000 in the private sector, as well as decent upward revisions in the previous months. This continues a trend of steady if unspectacular job growth throughout most of the last 2 years, with nearly 2.9 million private sector jobs created since the end of 2009, and almost 2.4 million jobs overall.

U.S. job growth 2011
2011- 1.58% private, 1.06% all jobs

U.S. job growth 2010-2011 combined
2010-2011 - 2.70% private, 1.85% all jobs

It also magnifies the failures of Scott Walker in the same department, as the revisions increase how far behind Wisconsin is with the gains in the rest of the country, especially since Walker's budget became law on July 1.

Wisconsin vs. U.S. jobs Jan.-Oct. 2011
U.S. +0.97%, Wis. +0.13% (-0.84%)
Wisconsin GAP -23,100 jobs

Wisconsin vs. U.S. jobs June-October 2011
U.S. +0.41% Wis. -0.99% (-1.40%)
Wisconsin GAP -39,000 jobs

You read that right. If Wisconsin grew at the same rate as the rest of the country over the last 4 months, we would have had 39,000 more jobs than we do now. If Wisconsin had kept up with the country since January (the month before Walker "dropped the bomb"), we'd be up 23,100 jobs.

And it looks even worse when you compare that to the numbers in the previous 12 months to "dropping the bomb."

Wisconsin vs. U.S. jobs Jan. 2010-Jan. 2011
U.S. +0.81% Wis. +1.44% (+0.63%)
Wisconsin GAP +17,000 jobs

You read that right too. 6 months after Jim Doyle the Dems' "tax-hiking, job-killing" budget, Wisconsin was GAINING 17,000 JOBS OVER WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE. Wish you had them back now?

Now, I know math and numbers are items that scare the daylights out of the average tightie righty, but 17,000 JOBS OVER is a helluva lot better than 39,000 JOBS UNDER. These numbers also show that we're back below the 2-year trend of growth for the rest of the nation.

Why would we accept Wisconsin staying behind the country's job growth? Oh, wait, over 300,000 of us has decided that we won't accept that, and another 600,000 of us (or so) will probably follow. And no unenforceable DOA protest policy's gonna stop that us from reminding you of that reality.