Working-class families are winning big under Trump

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its newest jobs report on Friday, and the data clearly show, under the pro-business policies implemented by the Trump administration, low-income and working-class families are enjoying significant economic gains not experienced in nearly 20 years.

Democrats and liberal pundits have argued the recent economic improvements are only helping a relatively small, mostly wealthy segment of the country, but nothing could be further from the truth. According to BLS, the national unemployment rate for December was 4.1 percent, a 0.6 percentage point drop from December 2016. That’s an impressive figure, especially since the unemployment rate stayed flat at 4.9 percent from January 2016 through October 2016, the final month before Trump’s election victory. But what’s especially remarkable is the extent to which working-class Americans are profiting under Trump and Republican leadership in Congress.

For instance, the unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma was 6.3 percent in December 2017, down from 7.6 percent one year earlier. Further, the average monthly unemployment rate for this demographic in 2017, 6.5 percent, is the lowest it’s been since 2000 and the second-lowest figure in BLS’ data for that demographic, which goes back 26 years to 1992.

The unemployment rate for workers who have graduated from high school but don’t have a college degree is equally impressive. It dropped from 5.1 percent in December 2016 to 4.2 percent in December 2017, and the monthly average unemployment rate, 4.6 percent, is the best it’s been since 2007. Further, the average unemployment rate for this group in the final four months of 2017, 4.28 percent, was lower than any annual average recorded since 2001.

The quality of the jobs available has also improved. The average number of Americans 16 years or older working part-time for economic reasons, about 4.91 million in December 2017, is about 600,000 jobs less than December 2016 and the lowest figure for the month of December in a decade. That means more Americans who have been forced to work part-time are finding higher-paying, full-time employment.