A Closer Look at Scott Walker’s Record on Jobs :Unemployment is Well Below the National Average, and Labor-Force Participation is Rising. By Andy Puzder
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-closer-look-at-scott-walkers-record-on-jobs-1430688558
Wisconsin ranks 40th in the nation for job growth, or so says a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Many in the media and political circles pounced on the release as evidence that the policies of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a potential presidential candidate, have left the Badger State trailing much of the nation.
But the report failed to give sufficient context to Wisconsin’s job growth. The BLS, along with other reports touting similar results, ranked states based on how much private employment increased over a year.
Why might Wisconsin’s employment increase seem modest? One reason could be that more Wisconsinites than people in many other states already had jobs, which they did. Another wrinkle comes from factors like the energy boom in the upper plains states. In states like Wisconsin not so blessed with shale, job growth can seem comparatively slow.
Let’s look at Wisconsin’s employment growth since Mr. Walker took office. Since February 2011, Wisconsin’s employable population has grown by about 100,000 people, but the number of people employed increased by about 135,000. That means employment outpaced population growth significantly.
But how does it compare with national employment growth? One important measure is the percentage of the employable population that is actually employed, what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls the employment-population ratio. The U.S. employment-population ratio has grown 1.5% since Mr. Walker took charge.
Yet Wisconsin’s employment-population ratio has jumped 2.5%—significantly more than the national improvement rate. Wisconsin is also gaining ground against other states. In February 2011 Wisconsin ranked 12th in employment-population ratio. It now ranks ninth.
Then there’s Wisconsin’s unemployment rate, which has also declined significantly under Mr. Walker. In March it dropped to 4.6%, the lowest since 2008, and down from 7.9% in February 2011. The rate is much lower than the 5.5% national average, and the state is climbing in the ranking of states with lowest unemployment, sitting at No. 17, up from 21st in 2011.
Some will rightly point out that the unemployment rate fails to account for people who can’t find a job and stop searching. And so a low unemployment rate is more meaningful if it is accompanied by high participation in the labor force. Since February 2011, the national labor-force participation rate has dropped to 62.7%, from 64.2%. Wisconsin’s rate, much healthier than the national average, has also declined but by significantly less, to 68.4% from 69.1%.
Wisconsin’s current 68.4% labor-force participation rate is particularly noteworthy because it represents an uptick over the past year from a low of 68.1%. Nationally, the average labor-force participation rate has declined to lows last seen during the Carter administration.
Given that Wisconsin’s unemployment has dropped to 4.8% from 5.6% in the past year, the state is in the enviable position of having lowered unemployment while increasing labor-force participation. Not surprisingly, this has helped Wisconsin move up to eighth place in state labor-force participation, from 12th in 2011.
The point is simple: After four years with Mr. Walker, more Wisconsinites are employed. That the state has outdone the nation on key economic indicators and moved ahead in key state rankings shows that his policies are working.
Anyone looking to knock down the prospects for a Walker presidential bid had better look elsewhere—like, for instance, his recent comments about the economics of immigration. Gov. Walker hasn’t mastered everything about the way employment works, but his performance so far in Wisconsin has been much better than his critics claim.
Mr. Puzder is the chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants.
Comments are closed.
