When it comes to creating jobs, mayors and governors like to have bragging rights. One bragging rights battle caught the attention of PolitiFact Wisconsin.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is talking up his city's economic engine compared to the rest of the state under Gov. Scott Walker.
"His claim was that since the two of them had been elected the state created 60,000 new jobs and 40,000 of those, or two-thirds, were created in the Madison area," said Greg Borowski with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
PolitiFact Wisconsin says Soglin—a potential gubernatorial candidate—understated Wisconsin's job growth.
He used labor force numbers which include people who are employed plus people who are unemployed but looking for jobs. However, that's not a count of jobs.
"The total number of new jobs in the private sector is roughly 210,000," Borowski said. "The number that the mayor was citing was the people in the labor force and that's different, that's just mixing apples and oranges."
What about Soglin's claim that Madison was creating two-thirds of the state's jobs—off again.
"While they do have a substantial number of the new jobs in the state, it's nowhere near the two-thirds that he had said. It's somewhat less than half," Borowski said.
PolitiFact Wisconsin rated Soglin's claim: False.
Soglin tells a Madison newspaper he is preparing for a possible run for governor. The Madison Democrat says he will make a decision by Labor Day.
