Treasury chief says tighter immigration boosted jobs and wages for low earners

At a State of the Economy event, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that aggressive immigration enforcement and rapid deportations have created more jobs and higher wages for the nation’s lowest-earning quarter. He noted that workers lacking a college degree are experiencing their strongest employment and wage gains in over a decade, comparable to the early Trump administration period. Bessent said wages for the bottom 25 percent grew roughly 3.5 times faster than those for the top 25 percent, with a median increase of about three and a half points.

Supporting data from the latest jobs report show average hourly earnings rose 3.1 percent year over year, and private-sector employees now earn an average of $37.75 per hour, translating to nearly $1,300 weekly. He also highlighted a decline of almost one million foreign-born workers in U.S. jobs, a drop of about 3.1 percent since the Trump administration began.