GOP: Nixon economic numbers are nothing to brag about

The Missouri Republican Party says economic statistics do not speak kindly of Gov. Jay Nixon's first term. From the news release:

Talk about a case of bad timing. Just one day before a disappointing national jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring and an increasing unemployment rate, Jay Nixon claimed that Missouri’s economy is “gaining momentum.”


But an examination of the numbers shows that Nixon has nothing to brag about. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

· Missouri’s unemployment rate is nearly 1 point higher than when Jay Nixon was sworn in.

· For 26 consecutive months under Jay Nixon, Missouri’s unemployment rate has been at or above 8.8%

· More than 55,000 Missourians have lost their jobs since Nixon took office.

· Missouri ranked third-worst in terms of job losses in 2010. Put another way, 47 states—including every single one of our neighbors—fared better than Missouri when it came to creating jobs last year.

“Jay Nixon certainly has nothing to brag about,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Missouri’s unemployment rate has been above 8% every single month that he has been in office—and he hasn’t done nearly enough to create jobs or grow the economy. For struggling Missourians and their families, Nixon’s lack of leadership is absolutely unacceptable.”

Nixon’s comments came just one day before new national economic data was released showing what a most Americans already know—that the liberal Democrat policies such as the stimulus and Obamacare passed into law by Claire McCaskill and Barack Obama are not working. Despite their assurances, the U.S. economy remains stuck in a rut—and that national unemployment rate jumped to 9.1%.

Despite the discouraging jobs report, Obama’s top economist put on his rose-colored glasses and claimed that the “overall trajectory” for the economy is good. (Sounds a lot like Jay Nixon’s claims that we are on the “right track.”)