The latest employer census numbers from the federal government show Wisconsin trailed 41 other states and all of its Midwest neighbors in its rate of private sector job growth.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from June of 2011 until June of 2012, Wisconsin saw a 1.5 percent increase in its total number of private sector jobs.

That compared to a 2.4 percent increase at the national level. In addition, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa all added private sector jobs at a faster rate than Wisconsin. Overall, Wisconsin tied for 42nd in the nation in its rate of job growth.

The job numbers were pulled from the highly detailed Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. As the name implies, the census draws its data from nearly all the state's employers. But because it's so detailed, there's a big gap between when it's collected and when it's released. For example, the federal government won't release the employer census numbers that cover all of 2012 until this summer.

If there was a bright spot in yesterday's report, it's that even if Wisconsin trailed other states, its own growth rate was picking up. A similar report released last summer showed Wisconsin with just a .7 percent growth in employment.