Friday, April 19, 2019

WisGOP claims low unemployment = things are great. Nope, Wis loses jobs again.

You probably missed it while Mueller-mania was going on, but Thursday also featured the Wisconsin jobs report for March. And Wisconsin Republicans immediately stepped forward to promote one part of the survey.





We’ll get back to that 2.9% unemployment number, because it’s not so great as you might think. But it’s interesting that WisGOP wants to take ownership for the status of the state’s jobs market these days. Duly noted.

If that’s the case, I guess we can credit Scott Walker and WisGOP for this part of the report, too.
Place of Work Data: Wisconsin added 9,200 total non-farm jobs and 12,400 private-sector jobs from March 2018 to March 2019. Wisconsin private-sector employment decreased 4,500 from Feb. 2019 to March 2019. Total non-farm employment decreased by 1,800 over the same time period.
Private sector employment DOWN by 4,500? That’s pretty awful, and February was also revised lower to show a loss of 1,400 private sector jobs and 3,700 jobs overall.

The 9,200 total jobs gained over 12 months is the second-lowest in Wisconsin in the last 6 years, with last October’s paltry total of 8,900 being the only other one worse. In fact, as you can see, Wisconsin’s year-over-year job growth has been in a relatively steady decline for more than 4 years,


This means that Tony Evers is inheriting a lower amount of job growth than Scott Walker did upon taking office in January 2011. And there’s not much upside left to find in the Wisconsin job market at this time, as the 2.9% unemployment rate indicates a state at full employment.

But worse than that, the 2.9% unemployment rate is less because of job growth than Wisconsin losing members of their work force. In the household survey that determines the state’s unemployment rate, Wisconsin eked out a gain in March of 2,500 residents saying they were employed, but its labor force only gained 1,000 people at the same time.

Remarkably, that’s a good month compared to what the state has consistently experienced in the last 18 months. As echoed in recent studies that show the state is literally running out of workers and working-age people in certain communities, Wisconsin’s labor force has fallen by nearly 18,000, and nearly 7,000 fewer people are listed as working overall.


This means Wisconsin’s low unemployment isn’t because of economic success, but because potential workers are being driven out of the state. But hey, maybe that’s also part of the WisGOP plan.


So as 2019 begins in Wisconsin, it really feels like we need a change in direction from the ALEC-GOP path we’ve been on. Things are clearly sputtering out in the state’s jobs market and a new emphasis on improving quality of life and making the state attractive for workers is long overdue. But you can bet Robbin’ Vos and Scott Fitzgerald are too bought to turn back on an agenda that has enriched them and their donors at everyone else’s expense, so I’m not sure how many improvements we will be able to get out of Evers’ budget.

It’s probably going to take a great effort by the Governor and others who give a damn about this state in order to stop the bleeding and lagging performance that has plagued Fitzwalkerstan for the last several years. And if things decline both here and nationally (as seems likely), we need to be all over the ALEC crew and keep them from trying to lie about the subpar state Wisconsin is currently in, and what caused the inevitable downturn.

1 comment:

  1. In-state and out-of-state entrepreneurs, investor capitalists and similar risk-evaluating and risk-taking types had two full Walker terms to study the business environment of the Badger State, plenty of time to ponder whether the "Wisconsin is open for business" signs posted at the states' borders reflected any kind of economic, social and political reality here, and their activity here (let's be blunt and call it what it really is, their astounding lack of activity here) speaks a greater, more absolute truth than any GOP twitter-babble.
    Wisconsin, while the GOP-dominated legislature continues to obstruct economic growth and continues to serve the Old Money One-percenters and Fascists, is a lousy place to start a business, a lousy place to move into and expect any reasonable chance of finding a career-oriented, good-paying job, and a lousy place, given the conditions of our roads and schools, to consider living and raising children.
    The exception: Madison, a decidedly liberal, diverse and Democratic city, and one with at least tolerably good infrastructure. It's not Minneapolis, which has far better public transportation and far more diverse cultural attractions, but its the best place in this Republican-mismanaged state to be had.

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