Walker's Wisconsin moving in opposite direction, Unemployment up from 4.2 to 4.3%

Live by the the unemployment numbers, die by the unemployment numbers. 

Getting what mileage he could out of the old 4.2% unemployment number he mentioned in his state-of-the-state address, you can bet Scott Walker won't be announcing the noticeable increase to 4.3% anytime soon. 

Walker's now higher 4.3% unemployment rate came from job losses in the lower wage service sector, while Minnesota's Democratically run economy saw the rate lower to 3.5%:

Jakes: Every single private-sector services area failed to gain jobs last month, with consumer-driven sectors doing the worst. This includes 1,900 jobs lost in the Leisure and Hospitality Sector (bars, restaurants and lodging) abd 4,500 jobs lost in the "Trade" Sector (which includes retail and related store-type positions). And to add insult to the injury of Wisconsin job losses. 

Take a look at what happened to the blue state across the St. Croix. Minnesota employers added 9,100 jobs in December, boosting the state’s job gains for 2015 to over 42,000. The Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday that the state’s unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent in December from a revised rate of 3.6 percent in November.

Because Walker's Wisconsin leads the nation in a declining middle class and business startups, so consumers have less to spend, meaning lower demand and lower general tax revenues. It's one of the biggest failings of "supply-side economics." WPR:

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the state’s general fund will end with a balance of about $135 million in July of 2017 — $94 million less than previously predicted. The Fiscal Bureau said a drop in tax collections was the biggest factor driving the decrease ... it could make some (Republican legislators) uneasy about approving new spending during the remaining couple months of session. 

The decline in tax revenue isn't just a result of lower consumer demand. The supply-side tax credit estimates for manufacturing and agriculture, zeroing out their obligations, ended up being to way too low. Cap Times::

But recent figures from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau show the credit will cost the state at least $275 million in additional lost tax collections over the next biennium, or more than double what was originally estimated.

That's a $500 million biennial hit that'll be made up by more spending cuts and deferred maintenance. 

If Republicans can't fix our roads because they refuse to fund their transportation budget, what does that say about everything else?