Jim & Those "12,000 New Jobs"

In his State of the State address, the Governor said "As a result of our steadfast focus on economic growth, in the last five years, we've created 12,000 new jobs".

First, according to the VT Dept. of Labor, "employment" is up 11,100 in the last 5 years, not 12,000.

Second, the Gov. was referring to "employment", which includes the self-employed and those who work without pay in family enterprises. If we count only "jobs" ("non-farm payroll employment"), the figure is 10,400. But 2,300 of those are government jobs so the private sector total is only 8,100. [Is the Governor suggesting that his "steadfast focus on economic growth" had anything to do with federal, state, and local government hiring? And why would a governor who just announced his intention to cut 400 state jobs brag about the growth in public employment?]

Third, for the five years prior to the last recession, private sector non-farm payroll jobs grew by 25,000; more than three times the 8,100 during the Governor's five year tenure.

Fourth, the 8,100 net new private sector jobs represent an increase of 3.3% over five years. During the same period, U.S. private sector non-farm payroll jobs grew by 6.9%.

Finally, the Governor said nothing about the types of jobs that have been created. Almost a third of the net new private sector jobs are in "social assistance" which has an average wage of less than $17,000.

So while being "steadfast" is usually considered a virtue, it doesn't make much sense if the policies aren't working.

Doug Hoffer