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Hourly wages for blue-collar workers have risen nearly 2 percent during the first five months of President Donald Trump’s second term, marking the largest early-term wage increase for this group under any U.S. administration in nearly six decades, according to new data highlighted by the Treasury Department.
The figures stand in stark contrast to the early months of the Biden administration, when real wages declined as inflation outpaced earnings.
“The only other time it has been this high … was during President Trump’s first term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The New York Post in an interview.
The Post reported that since President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, Trump is the only president to post positive wage growth for blue-collar workers in the first five months of his presidency. Trump recorded a 1.3 percent gain during his first term and has now surpassed that mark in his second term.
The publication noted that former President Joe Biden’s first five months saw a 1.7 percent drop in real wages for hourly workers due to inflation, underscoring a reversal in economic momentum under Trump’s renewed leadership.
Trump administration officials say the growth is a direct result of aggressive pro-growth and “America First” policies that prioritize domestic industries, deregulation and a tightened labor market. The White House has framed the wage data as evidence that middle-class and working Americans are finally seeing tangible gains after years of economic stagnation.
Administration economists have credited policies ranging from energy independence to trade realignment and tax reform as contributing to what they describe as a labor market resurgence.
The news follows the president’s comments earlier this month on his Truth Social profile noting the strength of the American economy.
“Prices are down, income is up, our Border is closed, gasoline is CHEAP, inflation is DEAD — Our Country is BOOMING! Companies are pouring into America like never before!” he wrote.
The White House is also touting the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” as a significant move to reduce federal spending, countering criticisms that the legislation lacks substantial fiscal restraint in a new article pushing against the “myths” against it.
In a statement released earlier this month, the administration emphasized that the bill includes $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, marking what officials describe as the most substantial spending reductions since the 1990s.
