Both here in Wisconsin and across the nation.
First, here in Wisconsin, the jobless rate rose to 8.7 percent (H/T to Owen Robinson at Boots & Sabers), with 26,000 jobs disappearing in December.
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate surged abruptly to 8.7% in December from 8.2% in November, an unusually large and unexpected single-month increase, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday.
December’s spike all but erased months of declines in the state’s jobless index. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate, which peaked at 9% in July, had been falling in the intervening four months through November, giving rise to hopes that the state was on the verge of recovery.
“This was unexpected,” said Eric Grosso, senior economist at the Department of Workforce Development.
December’s number was also significantly higher than the 5.9% rate one year earlier, in December 2008.
The state lost 26,100 jobs last month – an average of 842 people who lost their jobs each day. For the year, Wisconsin lost 163,000 jobs, which comes to 447 a day, the agency reported.
“This is a devastatingly horrible labor market,” said Michael Rosen, who teaches economics at the Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Ouch.
And now Gov. Jim Milhous Doyleone wants to hit the state’s sagging economy with this, an equivalent of an Acme anvil. A green jobs bill announced earlier this month which forces many of the stringent requires of cap-and-tax on Wisconsin.
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today was joined by business leaders, labor, legislators and environmental organizations as he launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s green economy and create jobs. New industry-recognized research shows the package will directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.
“Addressing climate change is not just an environmental issue, it’s about creating green jobs,” Governor Doyle said. “The Clean Energy Jobs Act offers new standards to help accelerate Wisconsin’s green economy. I am calling on the Legislature to update renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of our fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and set a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015.”
The Clean Energy Jobs Act, State Senate Bill 450 and State Assembly Bill 649, implements the recommendations of Governor Doyle’s Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and grow the state’s green economy through several key measures:
- Enhanced renewable portfolio standards – A new 20 percent standard would be set for 2020 and a 25 percent standard would be set for 2025. The current 10 percent standard would be accelerated from 2015 to 2013. By advancing our current renewable portfolio standards, and setting new standards, we will ensure more of our energy dollars stay in the state, creating thousands of jobs for Wisconsin families in fields like construction, manufacturing, and agriculture.
- Enhanced energy efficiency and conservation efforts – Graduated statewide electricity savings goals would be set, leading up to a 2 percent reduction by 2015 and annual reductions thereafter. The cheapest way to lower carbon emissions is through energy conservation. By setting achievable conservation goals, this bill will help reduce energy costs in businesses and homes across the state.
They’re dreaming if this is going to create 15,000 new jobs. What kind of jobs are so-called green jobs anyway? Building solar panels? Constructing wind mills? Here’s a definition of a “green job”:
… work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development (R&D), administrative, and service activities that contribute(s) substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution.
Yeah right. When pigs fly. You can only build so many solar panels and windmills, and what are the odds those are going to be built outside of Wisconsin, where costs are lower and shipped here?
Plus, all the mandates will increase costs to businesses, and those will be passed on to consumers. That’s just wonderful for job creation. Diamond Jim and the Democrats are trying to kill every last job in Wisconsin, much like Our Lord and Savior are the Democrats are trying to do to the country.
By the way, 15,000 new green jobs by 2025 averages out to 1,500 new jobs per year. Considering that we lost over 26,000 real jobs last month, the mindless chimpanzees in Madison are offering a band aid when a tourniquet is needed.
Across the nation, things aren’t any better.
WASHINGTON (al-AP) — A surprising jump in first-time claims for unemployment aid sent a painful reminder Thursday that jobs remain scarce six months into the economic recovery.
The surge in last week’s claims deflated hopes among some analysts that the economy would produce a net gain in jobs in January and help fuel the recovery.
A Labor Department analyst said much of the increase was due to holiday-season-related administrative backlogs at the state agencies that process the claims. Still, economists noted that that would mean claims in previous weeks had been artificially low. Those earlier declines had sparked optimism that layoffs were tapering and that employers would add a modest number of jobs in January.
The January employment report will be issued Feb. 5. But the surveys used to compile that report were done last week, so economists are paying close attention to the jobless claims figures from that week.
“The trend in the data is still discouraging,” Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial, wrote in a note to clients. “Hopes for a positive employment number in January … are rapidly dimming.”
Given the news we previously reported and commented on here, it’s a wonder anyone was surprised by the increase in jobless claims.
December retail sales were down. 2009 was the single biggest drop in retail sales on record. As a nation, we’ve lost over 4 million jobs since Barack Hussein Obama took office. As we wrote less than a month ago:
What’s on the horizon isn’t good the economy, either. The pending takeover of the nation’s health care system by the federal government with its myriad of new taxes and regulations and spending. Cap-and-tax, the massive carbon and energy tax aimed at fighting the fiction known as man-made global warming. Blanket amnesty for illegal aliens, thrusting 12 million potential workers into a workforce facing a real unemployment rate of 17.4 percent. The proposed European-style value-added tax, or VAT.
That’s why we won’t see the economic growth that the creation of real private sector jobs would bring.
Because no one in power in Washington is interested in creating those kind of jobs.
Washington and Madison are interested in growing two areas: the government sector and the dole, the number of people dependent on handouts from government. That guarantees their re-election. Everyone else be damned.
Once again, as we wrote here, there is a tailor-made opportunity for the Republicans, both here in Wisconsin and in Washington, to drive home what is needed to start creating real economic growth and real jobs: JFK- and Reagan-style tax cuts. Follow the lead of Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and push for tax rates to be returned to the era prior to the Clinton tax hikes of 1993. And leave them there. Make sure the death tax stays buried permanently. Eliminate all capital gains taxes. Heck, even Europe, which Obama loves to emulate, has no capital gains taxes.
And cut spending. Real cuts, not those current services baseline reductions in the rate of growth. $2 trillion deficits as far as the eye can see are simply not sustainable for our economy. Yes, that includes real reform of the twin time bombs known as Medicare and Social Security.
