Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency in 2024 isn’t any different, as he promises to bring back blue-collar jobs to every corner of America. In further news on wage growth, the White House trumpets an increase of real wages for hourly workers. A closer look at employment trends reveals a more disturbing picture. Many sectors traditionally associated with blue-collar work are experiencing significant job losses, raising questions about the efficacy of Trump’s policies.
Wages jumped In the first five months of Trump’s second term, real inflation-adjusted wages for hourly workers reportedly rose by almost 2%. That uptick represents the largest increase in real wages during any administration since Eisenhower – a span of nearly 60 years. Unfortunately, despite this promising statistic, the employment outlook for all blue-collar workers presents a contrasting picture.
Job Losses in Key Sectors
Recent data shows us that the majority of these blue-collar sectors are actually contracting, not growing. The transportation and warehousing industry has now suffered job losses for three consecutive months. This trend underscores the greater economic woes that are bigger forces at play hurting these essential sectors. Manufacturing, heralded as the pillar for blue-collar work, has lost 5 million jobs, too.
In just the month of November, manufacturing was down 5,000 jobs and now stands at its lowest point since March of 2022. This drop represents the seventh straight month of negative job growth in manufacturing since Trump rolled out his completely invented “Liberation Day” tariffs. While the tariffs were meant to shield American industries, the subsequent economic impact has caused increased job loss, not reduced.
The pandemic and a supply-chain crisis are squeezing the mining and logging industries in particular. They are down an average of 2,000 jobs per month. A sector not specified in the data has lost an average of 17,200 jobs during the same period, indicating widespread difficulties across various industries.
Construction Sector Shows Some Resilience
Against this alarming backdrop, the construction sector has shown remarkable strength. In the last three months, construction has averaged a month-over-month gain of 17,333 jobs. In November—by itself—the sector added a strong 28,000 jobs! Skilling up The expansion of this sector carries a promising ray of sunshine for blue-collar jobs. It remains to be seen if it can actually make up for other industries’ losses.
A rebound in construction jobs is likely at least partly due to rising infrastructure investments and private development projects. Yet, at the same time, it brings into sharp focus the sustainability of these gains as the broader economy shifts under different conditions. Small businesses, the primary employers of blue-collar workers, are under mounting pressure from inflation and high-interest rates.
Economic Policies and Their Impact
Trump’s administration has focused on reshoring manufacturing jobs by implementing high tariffs on critical imports like steel, aluminum, and copper. Yet while the goal of such tariffs is to encourage domestic production, reshoring doesn’t occur at the snap of a finger. Plenty of businesses are still feeling the effects of doing these policies early. Rather than fulfilling a promise to create new opportunities, they are ironically themselves the source of job losses.
Blue-collar workers depend upon the localized, economic engine of small businesses which are reeling right now from overwhelming hardships. Inflation and rising interest rates have created an extraordinary strain on these firms. As a result, they can’t keep or grow their workforce. The struggle for small businesses complicates Trump’s narrative of a job boom and highlights the broader economic factors at play.