"Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that had 'statistically significant' job losses over the past 12 months"... but 74% of the jobs lost were government jobs.

According to this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state lost 23,900 jobs from March 2011 to March 2012.

The majority - 17,800 - were government jobs. But Wisconsin also lost more private-sector jobs - 6,100 - than any other state over those same 12 months, the government data shows.

Democrats have seized on GOP Gov. Scott Walker's job creation record as a central campaign theme in the June 5 recall election.

"Walker's jobs record is a total failure, and this is what happens when you pursue ideology instead of focusing on jobs," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who is competing for the Democratic nomination against Walker.

"Every report card that comes in for Gov. Walker shows he's failing Wisconsin," said Kathleen Falk, the other leading Democratic challenger.

What would Barrett and Falk do that would increase the number of jobs in Wisconsin? Hire more government workers?

Toward the bottom of the article:

Separate government data show that Wisconsin was one of 18 states that had a statistically significant drop in the unemployment rate during the same March 2011 to March 2012 time frame, from 7.6% to 6.8%.

The governor has put this statistic as the center of his economic message. While it seems contradictory....