MADISON- A new report by PolitiFact Wisconsin shows that Scott Walker still has not reached his goal of 250,000 new jobs, which he promised would be done by the end of his first term. PolitiFact’s report was evaluating a claim by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), who stated that “Seven years later, (Scott Walker) has not hit his first campaign promise of creating 250,000 private-sector jobs. Pocan made this statement in a speech he gave on June 2nd at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s convention.
A.J. Hovorka at PolitiFact Wisconsin reports:
In 2010, Walker first sought the governor’s office on the promise that he would bring 250,000 private-sector jobs to Wisconsin by the end of his first term.
“(Scott Walker will) get government out of the way of employers … who will then help Wisconsin create 250,000 jobs by 2015, and as we create those new jobs, we will be able to add 10,000 new businesses,” his campaign said at the time.
For the years 2011 through 2014, Wisconsin added 130,153 private-sector jobs, meaning Walker fell short of his first-term promise by about 100,000 jobs, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
For this tally, we used the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which surveys nearly all state businesses, to get the most accurate picture for Walker’s years in office. We made comparisons using the fourth quarter reports from the QCEW.
On the Walk-O-Meter, which we use to track the governor’s campaign promises, we rated Walker’s pledge as a Promise Broken when economists said in September 2014 that it was impossible to reach his the target by the end of his first term.
Read more at PolitiFact Wisconsin.
