JANESVILLE (WKOW) -- Gov. Scott Walker's administration says job growth numbers that show Wisconsin gained jobs in 2011 have been verified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development spokesman John Dipko told The Associated Press that the BLS confirmed Wisconsin jobs grew by 23,608 in 2011. Dipko provided the AP with an email from BLS confirming that the data had been verified, but the final jobs number was not included in that email.
Dipko says the number is based off the data that received the final BLS sign-off. He says the state will publish those numbers on its website Friday.
Walker released the preliminary job numbers two weeks ago before they had been verified by the BLS.
Tom Barrett accused Walker of "cooking the books" and trying to spin the numbers to his advantage.
Walker says the BLS confirmation shows that the preliminary numbers were accurate. He says Barrett owes people an apology.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin says the release of the information violates the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002, which protects the privacy of data provided to the federal government for statistical purposes.
In a statement, Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate said, in part, "Scott Walker must explain to the public why he chose to break the law for political purposes in the release of this data, just as he must explain his connection to all illegal acts now under investigation."
