In this Breitbart article, John Carney argues that American factory workers are seeing a major wage resurgence under President Trump’s manufacturing-focused economic policies.
- The article says nonsupervisory durable goods factory workers have seen average weekly pay rise 7.4 percent from a year ago.
- Hourly pay is reportedly up 5.3 percent, while the average workweek has expanded due in part to increased overtime.
- Breitbart frames this as evidence of a “blue-collar boom,” especially for workers in cars, steel, fabricated metals, machinery, and other durable goods sectors.
- In May, hourly wages rose 0.4 percent and weekly wages climbed 0.6 percent, according to the article’s summary of Department of Labor data.
- Overtime for manufacturing workers increased to 4.0 hours, up from 3.7 hours a year earlier, which the article presents as a sign of stronger labor demand in factories.
- The article also cites real durable goods output rising at a 5.8 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, with productivity up 5.5 percent.
- After adjusting for inflation using the April CPI, Breitbart says real weekly pay for durable goods workers is up about 3.5 percent, while real hourly pay is up about 1.5 percent.
- Carney contrasts this with the decade before the pandemic, when real weekly wage gains for durable goods workers averaged only about 0.2 percent per year.
- The article argues that flat year-over-year manufacturing payrolls do not necessarily signal weakness, claiming immigration enforcement has reduced the break-even job growth rate needed to keep unemployment stable.
- Breitbart also notes that durable goods businesses added 17,000 workers in May and says the manufacturing diffusion index rose above 50, meaning more factory subsectors are adding jobs than cutting them.
Read the full story: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/06/05/blue-collar-boom/
