Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Wis. leads nation in year’s job loss

Despite numbers last week showing a decrease in statewide unemployment, Wisconsin is the only state in the country to experience a statistically significant job loss throughout the last year, according to recently gathered national statistics.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that Wisconsin lost 23,900 jobs from March 2011 to March 2012, with 17,800 of the losses coming from the public sector and 6,100 coming from the private sector. 

The loss was the largest decrease in percentage terms of all 50 states. However, Wisconsin was one of 18 states that had a statistically significant drop in the unemployment rate during the same period, from 7.6 percent to 6.8 percent. 

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Gov. Scott Walker’s spokesperson Cullen Werwie said Wisconsin’s economy is turning around, but there is still a lot of work to do. 

According to Werwie, the state added more than 15,000 private sector jobs since the start of the year and the state’s unemployment rate is down to the lowest rate since 2008. 

University of Wisconsin professor of economics Andrew Reschovsky said while the losses in the public sector are consistent with the Walker administration’s policies, the losses in the private sector are more of a mystery.

“I wish I could say I know what is causing the private sector job losses,” Reschovsky said. “The evidence suggests that there is nothing that Walker’s administration is doing specifically to cause a slow in growth.”

Reschovsky said one of the reasons the state could be lagging behind other states is because of the diverse nature of the state’s economy. He said the state brings in a lot of business from Europe, which is currently undergoing a financial crisis of its own.

An important thing to keep in mind, Reschovsky said, is there is only so much that can be done at the state level to encourage job growth and that politicians are likely to receive credit or criticism for changes they do not have complete control over.

Two gubernatorial candidates running against Walker, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, released statements criticizing the governor for his failures to create jobs in the state.

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