http://factcheck.org/2011/09/spinning-job-growth-by-the-numbers/Romney, Perry and Huntsman each cherry-picked facts about job growth in their states when they were governor. Here we offer a broader look at the numbers, which sometimes tell a different story than the candidates.
During the GOP presidential candidates' debate on Sept. 7:
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney boasted that Massachusetts was losing jobs when he took office and gaining jobs when he left. That's true, but the entire country was experiencing job growth during that period, and Massachusetts' rate of job growth was one of the weakest in the country.
Romney also boasted that three out of his four years in office, Massachusetts had an unemployment rate below the national average, and ended up with a 4.7 percent unemployment rate. In fact, the unemployment rate was slightly better than the national average when Romney took office, and was identical to the national average when he left.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, meanwhile, claimed that Texas created 1 million jobs over the last decade while the U.S. lost 2.5 million. That's true for Texas, but job losses in the U.S. as a whole have been less dramatic. Furthermore, job growth in Texas hasn't kept pace with the rise in the state's population — so the number of jobless Texans also has risen, along with the state’s unemployment rate.
Jon Huntsman claimed that when he was governor, Utah was No. 1 in the rate of job creation, better than Texas. That's true, according to data based on household surveys by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that's not the best measure. According to the most commonly used yardstick for job growth, payroll data, Utah was actually No. 4, behind Texas.
*more at the link
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