State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

How Many Jobs Can Governors Take Credit for Creating?

Governing: During their State of the State addresses earlier this year, many governors took the opportunity to remind the public of just how far their economies have come since the recession. New York’s Andrew Cuomo mentioned his state’s declining unemployment rate and record number of private-sector jobs. New Jersey’s Chris Christie cited the creation of 278,000 jobs since he took office in 2010. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said an uptick in manufacturing and tech jobs was a “direct result” of recent business-stimulating reforms.

Governors claim credit for positive jobs reports and get blamed when the numbers aren’t so good. But in reality, myriad factors affecting job growth are beyond their control. National and global economic shifts greatly influence job gains and losses, along with the performance of a state’s industries.

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