According to data published by the Federal Reserve, the wages and salaries of full-time middle-class workers rise faster, after subtracting for inflation, when Trump is president, as compared with other recent presidents.
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The following chart illustrates data published by the Federal Reserve which shows “Median usual weekly earnings: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over.” The gains shown are the percentage gain per year, after subtracting for inflation. They are “median,” which means that they are not skewed by averaging in a few very high salaries. In general, median data is middle-class data because half of workers make less and half make more.
We have calculated the gains for these presidents by beginning with the quarterly data reported for the three months ending in April of the year that they took office and ending with the quarterly data reported for the three months ending in April of the year that they left office. The data for Trump 47 is for just one year, because the data for the three months ending in July 2026 is not yet available.
However, there is recent data which indicates that the increased business demand for workers has continued since April. On September 4, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report for August. The results were striking. NEC Director Kevin Hassett said they were four standard deviations above economists’ expectations. The number of people working increased dramatically (up by 162,000) with more jobs in:
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- food services: 59,000
- construction: 22,000
- manufacturing: 16,000 (up 58,000 since December)
- health care: 13,000
There are several reasons why middle-class wages and salaries go up faster when Trump is president:
- Tariffs. Trump’s tariffs upon imported goods encourage the building of new factories within the United States, and manufacturing jobs tend to pay higher wages than service-sector jobs.
- Investment: Trump has been receiving promises from businesses to greatly increase their investment in new U.S. facilities, and workers benefit when businesses expand.
- Deregulation and Tax Cuts. Trump has been reducing business regulatory burdens and cutting business taxes, which encourages businesses to expand.
- Immigration. Trump keeps out and sends back illegal immigrants who drive wages down when they compete for jobs.
- Prices. Trump fights inflation by encouraging the production of inexpensive fossil-fuel energy instead of expensive green energy.
For these reasons and others, median wages and salaries go up faster when Trump is president. Trump helps those who earn their livings through wages and salaries, and many middle-class Americans reciprocate by voting for him.
Howard Richman and Jesse Richman co-authored the 2014 book Balanced Trade, published by Lexington Books, and the 2008 book Trading Away Our Future, published by Ideal Taxes Association.
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