The Trump administration isn’t sitting still. They’re firing on all cylinders.
And now a Trump official revealed a huge report with massive ramifications.
Historic Wage Gains for Blue-Collar Workers
Blue-collar workers have experienced a 1.7% real wage increase in the first five months of President Donald Trump’s second term, marking the highest growth for any administration since Richard Nixon’s 1969 term, according to U.S. Department of Treasury data.
This contrasts sharply with a 1.7% wage decline during Joe Biden’s first five months, when inflation outstripped earnings.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on the Pod Force One podcast on June 18, noted, “We’ve seen real wages for hourly workers, non-supervisory workers, rise almost 2% in the first five months. … No president has done that before.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines blue-collar workers as nonsupervisory and production employees. Trump’s first term also saw a 1.3% gain, making him the only president since Nixon to achieve positive growth in this period.
The Wall Street Journal reported in May that hourly earnings for production workers rose 4.1% year-over-year, outpacing inflation, which fell to 2.4% per recent CPI data.
Policy Shifts Drive Economic Relief
The wage surge stems from declining inflation and Trump’s focus on manufacturing and immigration enforcement.
Bessent highlighted the impact of Biden’s open-border policies, stating, “Biden opened the border, and it was flooded. And for working Americans, that’s a disaster because it’s pressure on their wages.” Trump’s crackdown, including a 95% reduction in “gotaways” reported by CBP in February 2025, has tightened labor markets, boosting wages.
The administration’s push for domestic manufacturing, with tax incentives for U.S. factories, aims to create 6 million jobs in construction and manufacturing, per a June Heritage Foundation analysis.
Historical comparisons show other administrations faltered: Barack Obama (-0.3%, 2009), Bill Clinton (-0.6%, 1993), George W. Bush (-0.6%, 2001), Ronald Reagan (-0.9%, 1981), George H.W. Bush (-3.0%, 1989), and Jimmy Carter (0%, 1977). Nixon’s 0.8% gain in 1969 was half Trump’s current rate.
Upcoming Bill Promises Further Gains
Trump’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” expected to reach the Senate by July 2025, includes measures to amplify blue-collar prosperity.
The budget reconciliation package features “no tax on tips” and eliminates federal income taxes on overtime pay for over 80 million hourly workers in manufacturing, construction, and first-responder roles, as outlined in a June 2025 Fox Business report.
These provisions target workers reliant on overtime, a key income source for many. The bill also offers tax breaks for manufacturers to counter decades of offshoring, aligning with Trump’s campaign pledges.
Bessent predicted a “double whammy” of lower inflation and faster wage growth if the bill passes, echoing the economic dynamics of Trump’s first term.
The current wage trend, already lifting take-home pay and living standards, shows strong public support for Trump’s worker-focused agenda, as evidenced by his gains among blue-collar voters in 2024, per CNN’s election analysis.
