Midwest is struggling for jobs, and Wisconsin is the worst of the group

Just wanted to give a quick update from another month of job losses in Wisconsin. The Bureau of Labor Statistics followed up yesterday with their state-by-state rundown on jobs, and this fuller, 50-state picture tells a lot.

First of all, the Midwest has noticeably trailed the rest of the country for job growth, which likely explains why all this talk of a "booming economy" seems like such BS. While over 500,000 jobs have been added in the last 3 months, the Midwest has flatlined. And Wisconsin has been the worst of the bunch

Change in jobs Jan 2019 - Apr 2019
Ill. +4,000
Mich +4,000
Ind. +1,400
Minn -2,700
Iowa -4,200
Ohio -5,700
Wis. -10,900

The same pattern repeats for the last 12 months. While non-farm payrolls in the US have gone up by 1.8%, 5 out of the 7 states in the Midwest are at 1% or below.

Wisconsin also brings up the rear for this time period.

Change in jobs Apr 2018 - Apr 2019
Ill. +1.37%
Ind. +1.23%
Mich +0.85%
Ohio +0.80%
Minn +0.78%
Wis. +0.51%

And yet the Wisconsin GOP is claiming at their convention this weekend that they need to "protect their progress"? Other than keeping an advantage in the gerrymandered legislature, what are they talking about? Wisconsin's brutal recent record on job growth is a shining example of why this state chose a different direction in every statewide election in November, and why this state has to change direction from the ALEC agenda that has kept us so far behind for so long.