Real wages for blue-collar workers are surging in early 2025, driven by a tighter labor market, falling inflation, and renewed immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said wages for non-supervisory hourly workers have grown by nearly 2 percent since January — a rate matched only during Trump’s first term. Speaking on Pod Force One with columnist Miranda Devine, Bessent credited the president’s focus on manufacturing and restoring immigration control. “No president has done that before,” Bessent said. “It’s the president’s emphasis on manufacturing. Biden opened the border, and it was flooded. For working Americans, that’s a disaster because it’s pressure on their wages.”
Those remarks follow a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded just 8,725 illegal border crossings in May — a 93 percent drop from May 2024.
For the first time in years, not a single migrant was released into the interior. Under Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security also introduced “CBP Home,” a rebranded version of the CBP One app offering $1,000 stipends to those who self-deport. Nearly one million have left the country since January, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, while the native-born labor force has grown by over one million.
That shift is especially significant in Wisconsin, where manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the economy. The sector represents nearly 20 percent of the state’s gross domestic product and employs over 576,000 people, placing Wisconsin among the top 10 states for manufacturing employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and IndustrySelect.
In its 2025 forecast, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue projects personal income growth of 4.6 percent, with wages and salaries expected to rise by 4.1 percent. (RELATED: Bill Berrien Backs Ranked Choice Voting Scheme Pushed by the Left)
Since January, the Consumer Price Index has cooled to 1.4 percent annually, offering relief to families hit hard by the more than 20 percent increase in prices during President Joe Biden’s term.
Less inflation, less competition with illegal immigrants and the protective tariff signals higher wages and job prospects for Wisconsinites. Fewer illegal workers mean less wage suppression. Cooling inflation means more purchasing power.
For many, this is more than a recovery — it’s a return to opportunity.