Gov. Jim Doyle announced late last week Wisconsin leads the Midwest in job growth for metropolitan areas in 2004, gaining more than 53,000 jobs so far this year.
Milwaukee and Waukesha counties gained nearly half these jobs, with the creation of 21,500 new jobs in the two areas last year. Wisconsin has led the Midwest in job growth for seven consecutive months.
The nation itself has seen brisk growth in the number of new jobs for 14 straight months, with 2.4 million new jobs since August of 2003. Many see this as a result of President George W. Bush’s pro-growth policies to aid the recovering economy, such as his series of tax cuts.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data Nov. 5 showing the creation of 337,000 new jobs nationwide in October, the highest jump in seven months. Unemployment jumped a tenth of a percent in October as more people sought jobs in the growing economy.
In Wisconsin, however, Doyle credits his own policies, and not Bush’s, for the strong growth.
“I would say we have done well in spite of the Bush’s administrations policies,” Doyle spokesperson Ethnie Groves said. “I think a huge part of this [job growth] is the Grow Wisconsin plan. We are just starting to see some of the positive affects coming out of that.”
Doyle initiated the Grow Wisconsin program to help spur job growth in Wisconsin. The plan involves a cluster of policies and bills covering everything from the elimination of the tax on job creation to aggressive regulatory reform.
Doyle’s plan not only focuses on creating jobs, but also strives to create well-paying high-end jobs that could support entire families. Groves said Doyle tried to expand jobs in many industries, such as biotech, because they pay good wages.
“We have lost a lot of jobs in the last few years. We want to replace them with jobs that do have the same kind of wages and benefits,” Groves said, adding Doyle’s plan also focuses on upgrading industries to attract new businesses to Wisconsin.
“Grow Wisconsin has made the state’s business climate more conducive to business growth — creating a business-friendly environment and holding a firm stance on increased taxes,” Rose Lynch of the Department of Workforce Development said in an e-mail.
The Republican-controlled State Assembly does not believe it is the Grow Wisconsin plan alone that contributed to the state’s success. Members believe strong Assembly initiatives in the last year have played a large part.
“This just proves that the economic development agenda laid out by the Republicans in the state legislature is having a great impact,” Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) said in a release. “We have been working hard on economic development with legislation such as the Job Creation Act.”
Lynch sees the growth as a direct result of Doyle’s policies. She said the job growth began in early 2004 after the implementation of the governor’s Grow Wisconsin plan.
An underlying policy of the Grow Wisconsin plan, according to Groves, is to create good jobs for University of Wisconsin System graduates. The state hopes to keep the graduates by providing many choices and opportunities for employment.
