In a dramatic reversal from the Biden era, President Donald Trump’s economic policies have redirected job growth toward native-born Americans, halting a trend that saw nearly all new jobs go to foreign-born workers. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that since Trump took office in late January, all net job growth has benefited native-born citizens.
Council of Economic Advisers Chair Steve Miran confirmed the shift, stating that more than half a million new jobs created since January have gone exclusively to American-born workers. In stark contrast, nearly 1.4 million more native-born Americans are employed now compared to May of last year, during Biden’s presidency.
The number of foreign-born workers in the U.S. labor force has dropped by approximately one million between March and May—the steepest two-month decline since the early pandemic period. Economists cited by the Wall Street Journal suggest this may reflect an exodus of unauthorized workers.
Trump’s hardline immigration stance appears to be driving this change. Alongside job market gains for American workers, wages are rising again. In May, average hourly pay increased by 0.4 percent, reaching $36.24.
Under President Biden, foreign-born workers saw a massive employment surge. Research from the Center for Immigration Studies found that during Biden’s tenure, migrants gained more than 4.7 million jobs compared to just 645,000 for native-born Americans—equivalent to 7.3 jobs for migrants for every one job gained by an American.
Despite the turnaround, Trump’s team faces challenges ahead. Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni notes that while foreign-born employment is 3.9 million higher than six years ago, native-born employment lags behind its pre-pandemic trend by several million.
