Wisconsin Only State in Nation With a Statistically Significant Decrease in Number of Jobs Over Last 12 Months
Yesterday, Blue Cheddar posted a table from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding the states with the most statistically significant employment changes from March 2011-March 2012.
Blue Cheddar says, "The data are quite clear. There were 23,900 fewer employees on Wisconsin non-farm payrolls in March, 2012 than there were in March, 2011. The Wisconsin economy is shrinking. "
Blue Cheddar contends that it just might be the most telling example of what a disaster Scott Walker’s economic policies have been for Wisconsin and helps illustrate the methods used by Walker’s administration to confuse the public.
Argues Blue Cheddar:
"So how can Reggie Newson, the Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development under Scott Walker, claim in a press release issued yesterday that “Approximately 18,500 more Wisconsin residents are employed compared to March 2011” ?? If you want a really thorough explanation of how both can be true, you can see the technical notes on the BLS website.
The short explanation is that statistics are gathered from different surveys. For the table above (the BLS table) 'Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence.' The numbers cited by Secretary Newson, however, are based on a survey that 'measures employment and unemployment on a place-of-residence basis.'
So, it can be true that a larger number of Wisconsin residents are working now even though the total number of jobs in Wisconsin has dropped significantly. Many Wisconsin residents work in Chicago, or the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, or in Dubuque. As those states have added jobs, the number of Wisconsin residents finding work across one of the borders has increased. They reside in Wisconsin, but they work in Illinois, or Minnesota, or Iowa. "
