We also had the most private jobs created over the year since 2004.

It’s no secret that growing jobs, strengthening our economy, and highlighting Wisconsin’s successes continue to be top priorities for my administration. By providing tax relief and enacting government reforms, we’ve worked to get the mighty hand of government out of the way and unleash the power of the private sector on our economy.

More than five years into our administration, we’re seeing measurable, positive results.

Looking ahead, one of our greatest challenges will be finding enough skilled workers to fill all of the new jobs being created in Wisconsin. With this in mind, we invested millions into our public schools in dual enrollment and youth apprenticeship programs.

We’ve also invested in our technical colleges and continue to fund customized worker training sessions.

In addition, we now require all able-bodied adults without children at home to work or be enrolled in our job training program before they can receive benefits, such as food stamps.

We seek to empower them, not kick them off if they can’t find a job. We provide job training if they can’t find work. We even help with rehabilitation treatment if someone has a drug addiction.

And here’s the great news – since April of last year, this job training and educational program helped almost 12,000 people move from government dependence to true independence.

More jobs and higher wages. That’s our goal as we continue our work to move Wisconsin forward. The latest news shows we are headed in the right direction. The Wisconsin Comeback continues.