Governor Walker reacts to August jobs report

By Jodi Becker

CREATED Sep. 7, 2012

  • Print
MILWAUKEE - Governor Walker is reacting to the national jobs numbers that were released this morning.  
 
Walker called the numbers disappointing.  He told Newsradio 620 WTMJ's Charlie Sykes, "It's disappointing in Wisconsin, disappointing across the country.  I mean, it (unemployment) went from 8.3 to 8.1 percent.  My understanding is that in the uh, analysis, that was given out, it was that largely because you have a significant number who have given up looking for jobs."  Walker called that, "the worst possible scenario."
 
Walker continued on to say the jobs market is tough when people are not just having a tough time finding a job but also stop looking.  
 
Can things get better?  Walker argues yes.  "We can do it," he told Sykes.  "But you gotta have that optimism that things are getting better.  And you see it in consumer confidence, you see it in these jobs numbers, you see it ... even in the unemployment rate in the face where people are just giving up on looking for it, we've got to turn things around and get people optimistic about recovery."
 
The issue of jobs creation has been huge for Walker.  The governor campaigned on the promise he'd help to create 250,000 jobs in the state during his first term in office.