Bryant's Failure on Jobs: Edition 29

It's been 29 months since Phil Bryant became our state's chief executive. In those 29 months, Mississippi's unemployment rate has remained over 7 percent. Friday's jobs report on the state of our economy offers troubling news. The report shows that nearly 98,200 Mississippians are without a job. To put that in perspective, that's about the size of Madison County's entire population.

With the closure of a casino in the Delta costing over 1,000 jobs and shipping jobs on the Gulf Coast going through turbulence, just to name a few, Phil Bryant continues to whistle past the graveyard with statements like "there's nothing more we could have done." Despite his claims that it's smooth sailing from here on out, the facts just do not back up Bryant's claim. Recall what Bryant said during his 2014 State of the State address:

I have often said we can make Mississippi the most job-friendly state in America. When a Mississippian has a job it changes everything. A Mississippian with a job is less likely to need public assistance, is more likely to contribute taxes to the state treasury, is a strong example of responsibility to his or her children and is more likely to vote, to participate in the community and to avoid crime. Each day as Governor, I make it my job to ensure more Mississippians have a job of their own. …

The American Legislative Exchange Council ranked Mississippi among the top ten most successful states for economic outlook, and Area Development Magazine says, 'Mississippi is on an economic roll.' I could not agree more. 

Bryant still holds the distinction of serving the entirety of his term in office with the highest unemployment rate in the South. If you or I performed as poorly at our job as Bryant does at his, we would be part of the 7.7 percent of our state without a job.