Treasury notes largest blue-collar wage growth in nearly 60 years under America First policies

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday released a new report that showed the steepest blue-collar wage growth for American laborers in nearly 60 years, which has occurred in just the first five months of the second Trump administration.

The report noted that wages for blue-collar workers have increased 1.7% since December, which is higher than President Donald Trump's first term, which saw wages increase by 1.3% in 2017. It is also a stark contrast to former President Joe Biden's term, which saw wages decrease by 1.7% in 2021.

"Thanks to [Trump's] pro-growth, America First policies, real wages for hourly workers are up nearly 2% in the first five months of [his] second term — the strongest growth in 60 years," Bessent posted to X. "No president has done that before — except President Trump in his first term. Hardworking Americans and Main Street businesses have never had a stronger ally in the White House."

Bessent told the New York Post that the growth is fueled by Trump's “emphasis on manufacturing” and his push to remove illegal migrants from the workforce, which opened jobs for American workers.

“Biden opened the border, and it was flooded,” he said. “And for working Americans, that’s a disaster because it’s pressure on their wages.”

The numbers are also more than twice the wage increase for the Nixon administration, which saw an increase of 0.8% in 1979. Other administrations have seen losses, with George H.W. Bush seeing the greatest loss in 1989 with a 3% drop.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.