According to the Trump administration, blue-collar wages are rising faster than they have in more than 50 years, with the past five months' gain in wages representing the highest increase in pay for blue-collar workers since 1968.
On the "Fox & Friends" program, Fox Business' Charles Payne recently discussed the fast-changing job market that has grown blue-collar employment by 1.7% since President Trump took office.
"Right now, the national unemployment rate is 4.2%. For construction workers, it's 3.5%," he began. "Know where it was in January? 6.5%. Think about how dramatic that is in such a short period of time."
"Manufacturing unemployment: 3.6% from 3.9%. Non-durable goods: 3.7% now; we started the year at 5.2%," Payne continued. "Mining, oil, and gas extraction: 4.2%; we started the year at 5%."
"This is dramatic," the financial journalist reiterated. "This is mind-boggling stuff, what we're seeing right now. How do you get an unemployment rate to go from 6.5 to 3.5% in five months?"
Meanwhile, as artificial intelligence impacts the workforce, recent college graduates are facing unemployment 2.6 points higher than the national average.
Payne pointed out that a four-year degree is no longer necessary "as we move into this fourth industrial revolution." He thinks a former IBM CEO, Ginni Rometty, put it best when she wrote in 2016, "New-collar jobs may not require a traditional college degree."
Such jobs, often in technology or related fields, require specialized skills that can be accessed through vocational training, apprenticeships, or community college programs rather than requiring a bachelor's degree.
Still, Payne encouraged graduates to be patient in job seeking.
"There's a great piece of research out right now that says our job market is still the most dynamic in the world," he noted. "But you have to be patient. Young men in America are giving up far too quickly."
Trump officials reportedly attribute the gain in blue-collar wages to the impact of falling inflation, which has boosted take-home pay and, in turn, living standards.
The administration also believes that the passage of the Republican tax cut package, the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," will help reduce inflation while speeding up wage gains like what occurred during Trump's first term.
