May Jobs Report Reveals Stagnant Wages Across Trump’s Economy

May Jobs Report Reveals Stagnant Wages Across Trump’s Economy

Working class Americans face a stumbling labor market propped up by limited concentrated growth, paychecks falling behind cost of living 

Today’s jobs report shows the labor market added 172,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.3%. But the headline print does not paint the full picture of the economy: hiring is still concentrated in just a few industries, long-term joblessness has climbed to its highest share since 2021, and paychecks are not keeping pace with record price increases driven by Trump’s tariffs and his war in Iran. May’s Challenger Report shows job cuts spiked 16% over April numbers to more than 97,000, the highest May total since 2020.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez released the following statement:

“Schools are out for summer, and working families give Trump’s economy a failing grade. A growing share of workers can’t find jobs, and working families’ paychecks are being crushed by the president’s high prices. Trump’s economy is leaving millions of Americans behind.”

BACKGROUND

• Job growth is concentrated in a few sectors, and warning signs are flashing.
  • Health care alone accounted for nearly 27% of May’s gains, with the bulk of the remaining gains in leisure and hospitality and local government.
  • The pace of hiring remains sluggish, with the hiring rate falling to 3.2% in April, lower than in any month of the 2014-2019 expansion, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data.
  • The outlook is worsening. Employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, up 16% from the 83,387 job cuts recorded in April, the highest May total since the COVID pandemic rocked the economy in 2020.
  • As Trump’s war in Iran drags on, Goldman Sachs estimates that it is costing the economy 10,000 jobs every month.
• Workers on the margins are being left behind.
  • Long-term unemployment is climbing fast. 27.5% of unemployed workers have now been out of a job for 6 months or longer, up from 25.3% in April and 20.4% a year ago.
  • A fuller measure of joblessness is showing further deterioration in the labor market. The U-6 rate, which counts discouraged workers and those stuck in part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time jobs, stands at 8.1%, up from 7.8% a year ago, with 4.8 million workers still unable to find the full-time jobs they deserve.
  • Trump’s economy is hitting some groups especially hard. The unemployment rate for Black workers is 6.6% and is 7.2% for workers ages 20-24, both well above the 4.3% national average.
• Paychecks are not keeping up with the rising cost of living under Trump.
  • Paychecks are losing ground to high prices. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.3% in May, failing to keep pace with the estimated 0.5% monthly increase in prices for May. Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran continue to push up prices for everyday goods.
    • Families are being hit especially hard at the pump. Gas is at $4.22 per gallon, up nearly 42% since Trump’s war in Iran began.
  • Wage growth is uneven across the labor market. Posted wages for salaried jobs increased 2.9% from the first quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, compared to pay for hourly jobs, which increased just 1.7%, according to new research from the Indeed Hiring Lab. Both lagged the 3.1% increase in prices over the same period.