President Trump presents policies as focused on lifting American workers, promoting well-paying blue-collar jobs and rebuilding industry. Labor leaders describe the administration as hostile to workers and say many do not feel economically secure. Average wages rose 3.9% over the past year and unemployment remains just over 4%, yet underlying uncertainty persists. New immigration enforcement and termination of protective programs have revoked legal status for many long-term workers. Those revocations are disrupting labor supply and forcing people out of jobs in farms and factories. Employers and communities face staffing shortages and increased operational strain across sectors.
"Every policy of the Trump administration is designed to lift up the American worker, promote great-paying blue-collar jobs and to rebuild the industrial bedrock of our nation," Trump said at a meeting of his Cabinet last week. Many labor leaders could not disagree more. "By every measure, this has been the most hostile administration to workers in our lifetimes," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told me in an interview ahead of Labor Day.
If you simply look at the numbers, workers appear to be in pretty decent shape. As of July, average wages were up 3.9% over the last year, outpacing inflation. Unemployment remains low, at just over 4%. Most people in America who want a job are working. But behind these numbers, there's a lot of uncertainty and tension. On the campaign trail, Trump often warned American workers that immigrants were taking their jobs.
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