8 Comments:

I'm not a mathematician, but doesn't that equate to 35% job growth overall? If my math is correct that doesn't sound too bad.

Where can I find the national numbers to compare too? Or better yet, what are the numbers for a like state, say Iowa or Michigan?

By  Anonymous, at 12:57 PM  

My bad for not including the link.
The best private sector job growth rate under Pawlenty was in 2004, where the private work force grew by 1.81%.

By  Hammer, at 1:11 PM  

More from here. From 2000-2004, Minnesota's average unemployment rate was about a full percentage point better than the national rate. In 2000 and 2004, Minnesota's average unemployment rate was .9% better than the U.S. average. In 2002 the gap peaked at 1.3%: Minnesota's unemployment rate was 4.5% while the U.S. rate was 5.8%.

At the end of 2005, that gap started to narrow. In December, the gap was .7%. In January, it fell to .5%. While Minnesota's job market has been (and still is) better than the national average, that advantage has been eroding recently.

By  Hammer, at 1:17 PM  

But by looking at unemployment rate and comparing it to job creation, you are comparing apples to oranges.

Jobs are jobs be they public or private.

Some of the unemployed will always be unemployed regardless of what new job creation there was or wasn't.

By  Anonymous, at 1:27 PM  

I'm not understanding what you are getting at. You had asked about job growth. Minnesota's private workforce has grown 2.6% since December, 2002. That's not an annual figure, that's total. And that's not particularly good.

You also asked about national comparisons. I gave you the unemployment figures, which are the easiest to come by. More data is here. Nationally, the total number of jobs has grown 4.6% since December, 2002. Again, not a great number, but far better than Minnesota has done.

Under Pawlenty, job creation has not been good by state historical standads and has not been good compared to national trends.

By  Hammer, at 1:56 PM  

I think I see the problem. Your table lists statistics from 1990- and forward. Not being from MN, and not following MN politics any closer than now realizing that Pawlenty was not governor all those years, now I see what you are getting at. When was Pawlenty elected?

By  Anonymous, at 7:39 AM  

Pawlenty was elected in 2002. I should've made that clear. He followed Jesse Ventura.

By  Hammer, at 7:59 AM  

Clinton economic miracle? Everybody knows that was the Arne Carlson economic miracle.

By  Joey de Vivre, at 2:05 PM  

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