× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Gov. Scott Walker wasted no time after his re-election Tuesday doing what he does best — getting out in Wisconsin to talk about his priorities.

One of those priorities, the governor said Thursday during a visit to Western Technical College’s welding laboratory, is to make sure there are plenty of good-paying, high-quality jobs that can provide for middle-class families. And there needs to be more training ... that connects the student and the employer.

Walker is correct. A recent study by Marc Levine at the UW-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development found that much of the state’s job growth has been in jobs paying $12.50 an hour or less. That’s been happening since 2000 and was exacerbated by the Great Recession. The middle-wage occupations paying between $12.50 and $25 an hour accounted for 90 percent of the job loss.

Even if there were an increase in the minimum wage — which is not going to happen under Republican control — the economic job trends in Wisconsin are foreboding. The study shows that several occupations considered middle-wage jobs in 2010 have now fallen into the low-wage category.