Walker Blames Lack Of Trained Workers For Flagging Job Growth

Gov. Scott Walker says Wisconsin continues to rank relatively low in job creation because not enough people are ready to join the workforce.

New data from the U.S Labor Department shows Wisconsin ranked 37th among states in adding private jobs during the 12 months ending last June, with an employment increase of 1.5 percent. Wisconsin is 32nd over the last five years.

Walker said that more companies would add jobs if more workers were job-ready.

“Employers have increasingly told us, we’ve seen it even in some of the Chamber (of Commerce) surveys, that until we can get more people in the workforce, employers aren’t going to add more work until they can fill the positions that are vacant right now,” Walker said.

He said he doesn’t know many additional jobs be created, but pointed out that Wisconsin ranks relatively high in the percentage of people in the workforce.

Walker told a business group in Milwaukee Friday that the state wants to help get more unemployed people off drugs and into jobs.