Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker took the bold step of pledging the creation of 250,000 jobs during his first term in office.

How is Gov. Scott Walker doing? The MacIver Institute did some investigative reporting:

Wisconsin has 137,372 more private sector jobs than when Governor Scott Walker first took office in January 2011, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which puts him past the halfway point towards his goal of creating 250,000 private sector jobs in his first term.

This information was contained in the BLS’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. That census includes detailed information from more than 96 percent of employers. This is much more accurate than monthly jobs’ reports, which are compiled by surveying a fraction of employers.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel used the same data to determine Wisconsin ranked 44th in private sector job growth from September 2011 to September 2012.

John Koskinen, Chief Economist at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, confirmed the private sector job growth numbers uncovered by the MacIver News Service, “That’s literally true,” however, Koskinen said economists typically use the same month from different years to avoid seasonal variations in employment.

Although Koskinen might be uncomfortable comparing jobs numbers from January 2011 and September 2012, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin felt those two months strengthen the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story.

“The day Scott Walker took office, we were 11th in job creation. Now, we are 44th, and it is a direct result of both his inattention and his policies. Those have included massive cuts to job-creating investments in education, health care, technology, infrastructure and vocational training,”reads a DPW release from March 28, 2013.

DPW neglected to mention the fact that during that same timeframe, Wisconsin added over 137,000 private sector jobs putting Walker well on track to meet his goal by the end of his term. And although the chief economist for DOR is wary of using such a timeframe, Koskinen completely rejects the statement that Wisconsin is 44th in job creation.

During a presentation in March, Koskinen pointed out Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is consistently lower than the national average. Also, previously the BLS reported Wisconsin was losing jobs, only to have to revise those numbers later and admit the state gained jobs.

The Dumocrats failed to report that the last Democratic governor, James Doyle, presided over a single-year job dump of 121,000 jobs.

Do the math yourself:

Of course, the politically unaligned might point out that those 137,000 created jobs merely make up for Doyle’s 2009, with a few more jobs thrown in. The 15 percent of Americans who are either unemployed, less employed than they want to be, or are no longer looking for work because there are no jobs (look up U6 unemployment) want a full-time job and don’t care who gets credit for it.

Media Trackers asserts:

For Democrats who have spent the better part of the last two years attacking Walker on various issues, including jobs numbers, the news is a blow to their political messaging. If Walker is halfway towards completing his goal, that is no small feat considering the fact that Wisconsin employers still struggle with relatively high taxes and what some experts have said is a burdensome regulatory climate.

If Walker and legislative Republicans moves to cut taxes, streamline the tax code by eliminating tax credits for government-favored items, they may actually get to Walker’s job creation goal. The numbers show them to be well on their way.

That, however, is a big if, and one piece of evidence that this is not necessarily good news. (Independent of the most recent monthly county unemployment rates, which are definitely not good news.) The worst thing that could happen here is for Republicans to assume the job numbers mean the Legislature doesn’t have to fix our “relatively high taxes” and “burdensome regulatory climate.”

There is nothing “relatively” high about Wisconsin’s state and local taxes. To have the fifth highest state and local taxes in the country means taxes are too high, period. The last time we had a Democratic governor and Democrat-controlled Legislature, taxes increased $2.1 billion. The Legislature has not eliminated those tax increases, which is one reason why Wisconsin ranks a miserable 43rd in taxes on business (also known as “job creators”). The only people who feel that Wisconsin’s “regulatory climate” is “burdensome” are those who have to deal with state regulators (also known as “job creators”).

Moreover, this state has trailed the nation in per-capita personal income growth since the late 1970s. Yes, that dubious accomplishment goes back to the days when Patrick Lucey was the governor. Every governor since then, including Walker, has failed to improve that. That has everything to do with this state’s business climate and the state’s continuing hostility to business (also known as “job creators”).