Former Wisconsin governor's statement on layoffs is correct, but it’s lacking context

Jobs continue to be a major talking point during this election cycle, and there are many ways to measure the current state of joblessness in Wisconsin. 

During a March 3 appearance on CNN, former Republican Gov. Scott Walker cited one of them: Layoffs. 

When asked about how people in Wisconsin are feeling about the presidential election, Walked declared: "We just had 100% increase in layoffs." 

At that point in the year, we were two months into 2024. Had there really been a 100% increase in layoffs?

Although he was unclear on what timeframe he was talking about, Walker’s staff told us he was comparing the first two months of last year with this year. It is easy to check that by reviewing the Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN) notices for January and February. 

In January 2023, there were about 850 people laid off in Wisconsin. In February 2023, there were 288 people laid off, adding up to 1,140 workers. 

Meanwhile, in January of this year, 1,794 people were laid off, followed by 1,112 in February. That’s a total of 2,906. 

When we asked Walker’s office for more evidence it shared an article from WKOW from Feb. 3 stating layoffs are up 109% in January. 

And clearly, that trend continued in February.

What are other job indicators showing?

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stated on September 14, 2024 in a speech

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On the layoff front, 2024’s first two months have been rough, but there are other measures of the economy in general, and joblessness in particular.

For instance, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has been at or below 3% for the last 12 months according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 3.9%.

According to the most recent data, in 2023, Wisconsin had more than 3 million people working, which was a record high, and so far that trend is continuing as the state Department of Workforce Development reported in February that nonfarm jobs increased by 22,400 in the month, to 3.03 million jobs overall.

When Walker made the statement, in January, the department reported the state in December hit a record high number of jobs for the second straight month, topping 3 million. That information was available to him at the time of the statement.

Also at the time of the statement, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in December, below the national average of 3.7%. 

In Wisconsin, the labor force participation rate is 65.7%, which is higher than the national average of 62.5%, according to the Department of Workforce Development, which is roughly where it was when Walker made the statement.

So, there is data that suggests Wisconsin’s job situation is in good shape, but Walker cherry-picked one data point when making his point 

Walker said March 3 on CNN that Wisconsin "just had 100% increase in layoffs." 

The number is accurate, comparing January and February of this year with the same months last year. But Walker ignores other data points on jobs, such as the low unemployment rate and high labor force participation rate. 

Our definition of Mostly True is that the statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.

That fits here.