Some progress, but a long, long way to go

For Gov. Scott Walker to achieve his top campaign promise, the state's employers will have to go on a sustained hiring binge.

The latest report, issued Nov. 21, 2013, indicates that Walker is a little more than a third of the way to his promise of creating 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his four-year term.

Our latest calculations estimate the state has created about 96,482 jobs since Walker took office, leaving 153,518 to go with 14 months of his term remaining.

That means the state would have to add, on average, nearly 11,000 jobs a month before the end of 2014 to reach 250,000.

The latest report from the state Department of Workforce Development contained good and bad news when it came to Walker's promise.

The federal government shutdown delayed the report, and the state combined the September and October figures in one statement. However, the state agency only emphasized the positive.

It showed an increase in private sector employment of an estimated 12,400 jobs. That's the increase in employment from September to October.

What wasn't shown was the difference from August to September -- a loss of 4,600 jobs. The report also revised down the August jobs count by 1,200, to an increase of 6,100.

So the net result of the latest report: the state gained 6,600 jobs, or about half of what the department highlighted.

The report is based on preliminary estimates from a small sample size that are subject to considerable revision. The monthly reports are among the tools we use to monitor Walker's jobs promise. For our tally we use a combination of the best available annual and monthly data supplied by the state and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

You can see our updated monthly graphic that follows Walker's progress in meeting the jobs promise.

This promise remains In the Works.