Wisconsin ranked 44th among states in private sector job growth from September 2011 to September 2012, according to new data that Gov. Scott Walker says is the most accurate.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the quarterly data on job growth Thursday, leading to criticism from Democrats that Walker’s policies are not working. Those numbers came as a separate monthly data report showed Wisconsin’s unemployment rate jumped 0.2 points to 7.2 percent last month. 

Aside from North Dakota’s 9.3 percent growth, states ranged anywhere from a 0.2 percent reduction to a 3.8 percent growth in private sector jobs. But Wisconsin’s 0.9 percent private sector job growth put it near the bottom, despite it being a top priority for Walker’s administration.

Although the numbers are not as timely as monthly data, economists agree they are the most accurate. The quarterly data comes from a survey of 96 percent of Wisconsin employers, whereas the more timely monthly data comes from a survey of about 3.5 percent of the state’s employers and is prone to large revisions.

Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie said Walker’s focus has been on job creation, pointing to a Thursday event in Milwaukee where Walker announced a new entrepreneurship program and his various visits to state employers.

“During the previous governor’s last term, Wisconsin lost more than 133,000 jobs,” Werwie said in an email to The Badger Herald. “Since Governor Walker took office, Wisconsin has gained jobs. Still, Governor Walker wants to increase the pace of job growth.”

Walker told reporters Thursday the state is just getting past a period of economic uncertainty that stemmed from protests at the Capitol and an unsuccessful recall attempt against him, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He has recently backed off a campaign promise to create 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his term. 

Reggie Newson, the state’s workforce development secretary, said in a statement the state has seen economic growth under Walker, but that the state needs to do “everything we can” to keep improving it. 

But the report drew criticism from the state’s top Democrats, who noted Wisconsin’s ranking has dropped significantly since Walker took office. Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, blamed Walker for being too focused on politics to care about Wisconsinites.

“Today’s news reaffirms what everyone already knew,” Larson said in a statement. “Wisconsin continues to lag nationally in job creation at no fault of our hard-working, middle-class families because for the last two years, Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans have spent more time on political favors and retribution than on creating Wisconsin jobs.”

Michael Bare, research coordinator at Community Advocates, a Milwaukee group focused on reducing poverty, said the state is “winning the race to the bottom.” He said the Legislature should focus on improving the state’s safety net and creating more transitional jobs that would help the unemployed.  

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Research Director Jon Peacock said Walker needs to move away from his “trickle-down policies.”

“His general sales pitch over the last six months has been that his policies have been succeeding and that we should double down on what he did last session,” Peacock said. “I think that’s clearly the wrong lesson to draw from the current data.”