Wisconsin Manufacturing Jobs Up On Gov. Doyle's Watch; While Peddling Mark Green, GOP, WMC Prefer States Where Jobs Fell

Wisconsin manufacturing, part of a nationwide slump until 2003, made a stunning and robust comeback under Governor Jim Doyle, reports Manufacturers' News Inc. (MNI), the industry bible that issues impressive studies of each state.

MNI President and CEO Tom Dubin had this to say upon the release of the latest Wisconsin report:

There’s no doubt that Wisconsin has bucked the national trend of losing manufacturing jobs.  While many other Midwestern states such as Illinois and Indian are losing jobs, Wisconsin has enjoyed a steady recovery from the downturn of 2001-2003.

This is consistent with the previous reports by MNI, which issued this press release on January 24, 2006:

INDUSTRIAL GUIDE REPORTS WISCONSIN MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT SHOWS IMPRESSIVE GAIN

Wisconsin manufacturing employment has made a steady comeback according to the 2006 Wisconsin Manufacturers Register, a manufacturers guide published by Manufacturers' News, Inc. Evanston, IL. This directory of manufacturers reports a gain of 11,652 jobs over the past 12 months despite the loss of 11 plants.

Wisconsin lost 21,000 manufacturing jobs between 2001 and 2003 according to the directory’s annual census. The 2006 Register describes a surprising turnaround for the Badger State. While some Midwestern states such as Minnesota and Ohio are still struggling with job losses, Wisconsin has since recovered, bringing in 15,000 manufacturing jobs over the past two years.

“Manufacturing productivity continues to outpace the gains in the rest of the economy, growing 4% a year as state manufacturers adapt their business models to utilize new technology and compete in a global economy.” said Tom Dubin, President and CEO of Manufacturers’ News, Inc.

Some thoughts about all of this:

• The folks at WMC who enjoy nothing more than demeaning Governor Doyle while lying to the state about the business climate in Wisconsin, have said nothing to their members or the public about these glowing reports.
• In Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal, Scott Klug echoed the same tired old Honda went to Indiana stuff which has been debunked repeatedly. Klug ironically went on to praise four neighboring states for gaining new manufacturing plants without mentioning that every one of them lost jobs while Wisconsin racked up impressive gains.
• In attempting to bash Governor Doyle, Klug confuses the growth of manufacturers and manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin.
  • Wisconsin lost 21,000 manufacturing jobs between 2001 and 2003 according to the directory’s annual census. The 2006 Register describes a surprising turnaround for the Badger State. While some Midwestern states such as Minnesota and Ohio are still struggling with job losses, Wisconsin has since recovered, bringing in 15,000 manufacturing jobs over the past two years. but-
  • The MNI Wisconsin directory of manufacturers reports a gain of 11,652 jobs over the past 12 months despite the loss of 11 plants.

In other words, Wisconsin has a net loss of manufacturing plants. but has a nation-leading increase in jobs. Here is how Wisconsin compares (all reports are for the year 2006):

• MNI's regional study shows Wisconsin ranks 10th in the nation by number of manufacturing jobs and 9th by the number of plants. The state accounts for 12% of the Midwest’s manufacturing employment, ranking it the 5th largest manufacturing employer in the region.
• For the second year in a row, Wisconsin’s industrial employment has grown, according to the 2007 Wisconsin Manufacturers Register, a manufacturers’ directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI), Evanston, IL. MNI (http://www.manufacturersnews.com) reports the Badger State gained 9,336 jobs (1.4%) over the past 12 months, continuing the upward trend the state has enjoyed since 2004.
• MINNESOTA MANUFACTURING JOBS DOWN SLIGHTLY, REPORTS STATE INDUSTRIAL GUIDE
• INDUSTRIAL GUIDE REPORTS OHIO MANUFACTURING JOBS DOWN 32,337; PLANTS DOWN 93
• ILLINOIS GAINS PLANTS BUT LOSES MANUFACTURING JOBS, REPORTS STATE MANUFACTURING GUIDE
• STATE INDUSTRIAL GUIDE REPORTS MICHIGAN GAINS PLANTS, LOSES MANUFACTURING JOBS (I would rather live in Wisconsin with the impressive gain in jobs, not in Michigan where they have more plants but lost jobs.).
• *INDUSTRIAL DIRECTORY REPORTS INDIANA MANUFACTURING PLANTS UP 81; JOBS DOWN 1%  (Mr. Klug might prefer Indiana with more plants and fewer jobs.).
• or perhaps they prefer Ohio: MANUFACTURERS' GUIDE REPORTS OHIO INDUSTRIAL JOBS DOWN 34,203.

*"Indiana’s 1% job loss in 2005 is moderate compared to its neighbors. MNI data shows Illinois lost 3% of its manufacturing employment while Ohio lost 2.7%."

MNI is clearly a pro-business organization; it is not an arm of the Democratic Party.

Wisconsin went head to head with five Big Ten opponents (MI, MN, IN,OH, and IL) and outscored every one of them. To focus on a single statistic (manufacturing plants) which is not the final score is about as honest as portraying punting yardage as reflective of the outcome.

Comments

[jody]

Ack!
Take pity on me and read my post on the Republican Girly men (please!) Something is wrong with my Lefty Blog Feed and I'm not showing up in the headlines. I spent too much time on it for that crap!

Probably shouldn't have upgraded to that damn Blogger Beta. Don't try it. Maybe it corrupts your code or something.
#*&%@%*!!

Thank you for your kind attention.

[Seth Zlotocha]

And I bet it really burns conservatives that much of the growth in Wisconsin manufacturing has been credited to the government-funded and UW System-supported Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2006/8/22/wisconsins-lean-manufacturers-continue-to-prosper

http://www.engr.wisc.edu/alumni/perspective/22.2/wmep.html

[Brian]

Missing from this discussion about jobs are several important facts.
Jobs are going to the Third World due to national government "free trade" (really corporate managed trade) policies that Mark Green (and Tommy Thompson before him) supports. So, for example, by perusing a Jobs with Justice report here http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/global/tools/NAFTAreports/WI.pdf
you learn from a certified report about Wisconsin jobs---the specific company is listed-- lost to Mexico.
In a May 17, 2005 Wisconsin State Journal Column Russ Feingold indicated that Wisconsin had lost "nearly 92,000 manufacturing jobs, many of them due to NAFTA and other flawed trade agreements." Some argue that these agreements open their markets to our products but Russ points out that an Economic Policy Institute study revealed that Wisconsin suffered a net job loss of 23,000 due to NAFTA.
What is the likelihood that Doyle or Green will join Russ in opposing these bad trade deals?
Second, the declining unionization of Wisconsin's work force means workers are getting less of the wealth they create. From unionstats.com we learn that 24% of Wisconsin workers were members of a labor union in the mid 1980s and now it's down to 16%. What are Jim Doyle or Mark Green going to do to free up the ability of those workers who want to form unions but are now currently prevented by unfair management tactics?
Finally, too many of the jobs are low wage to begin with. The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) has noted that the percentage of jobs paying poverty level wages is about the same as it was in 1979 (about 21%). And the number they live to define poverty? Ridiculously low at 9.52/hour. Can we make any progress here, Jim Doyle or Mark Green? If workers are more efficient and more productive than they've ever been why aren't we seeing forward progress on these numbers?