DES MOINES – Progress Iowa, a left-wing liberal political group, took issue with employment numbers released by Governor Terry Branstad which said Iowa gained 3,700 jobs.
Progress Iowa said that the Branstad administration “distorted” the most recent job numbers by 6,100, according to records released by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) last week. The total nonfarm employment declined by 2,400 in December 2013. However, Branstad’s manipulated figure ‘gross over the month employment gains’ showed a gain of 3,700, or a difference of 6,100. The figure is not recognized by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Governor Branstad is out of touch with reality when it comes to job growth,” said Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa. “He has directed a state agency to put forward a myth about his success as a job creator, to say we’re gaining jobs when we’re actually losing them. Instead of deceiving his constituents, he should focus on growing Iowa’s middle class. Family incomes are growing at a snail’s pace, just 0.2% over the past two years, and no working family can thrive at that rate. We need an honest discussion about how to strengthen our economy, and we need the Governor to stop his dishonesty on this issue.”
Progress Iowa said that after Branstad “made inflated job claims” in his condition of the state address earlier this month, an independent fact check determined that his claims were “misleading” and “mostly false”.
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Background:
Fact Check: Net job gain less than half of number claimed by Branstad
http://thegazette.com/2014/01/
Annotated IWD Jobs Report, Accessed January 28, 2014
