Combined, stronger-than-expected employment growth and softer-than-anticipated inflation form a healthy economic combination.

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The United States economy continues to improve across a wide swath of measures, yet too many fail to perceive it.  

Blame that on mainstream media, which simply cannot tolerate Trump Administration success, despite the numbers.  A new jump in consumer sentiment for the month of February, however, at least suggests that reality is beginning to overcome the media’s artificially negative drumbeat.

Starting with employment, the federal government’s official report for January showed the U.S. economy adding 130,000 jobs, far above what economists had predicted.  Just as notably, the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent, signaling that the nation’s labor market remains sturdier than many analysts expected heading into the new year.  

That uplifting jobs report was followed by an equally welcome inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Specifically, the consumer price index (CPI) came in at 2.4%, also below the consensus estimate.  That marks a continued easing since Donald Trump returned to the White House, when inflation stood at 3% in January 2025 after hitting as high as 9.1% under Joe Biden.  

Considering that inflationary turbulence Americans endured in recent memory, a 2.4% rate represents a meaningful cooling.  Combined, stronger-than-expected employment growth and softer-than-anticipated inflation form a healthy economic combination.  

Perhaps the most important element of President Trump’s economic story, however, continues to receive far less attention than it merits:  Real wages are rising.  

“Real wages” may sound like academic jargon, but it’s straightforward kitchen-table economics.  “Nominal wages” are simply the dollar figures on paychecks.  What matters more than that number, however, is how much that paycheck can actually buy when adjusted for inflation, which obviously measures how quickly prices of goods and services are increasing.  Accordingly, real wages compare nominal wages on paychecks to inflation, thus measuring purchasing power.  

To illustrate, if your nominal wages rise 3% but inflation rises 4%, you’re effectively poorer because your paycheck buys less than it did before.  If your wages grow 4% while inflation runs at 3%, in contrast, your purchasing power increases.  That’s real wage growth, and it’s one of the clearest measures of whether Americans are genuinely better off.  

Under Biden, they were not.  By the time he left office, American families were paying nearly $20,000 per year more for the same basket of goods and services than when he entered office.  

With that in mind, the latest official data shows that nominal wages rose 3.7%.  With inflation down to 2.4% as noted above, wages are thus outpacing prices, meaning that Americans aren’t just earning more.  They’re also able to purchase more goods and services with those earnings.  Notably, blue-collar workers’ real wages are rising even above the overall number.  Our standard of living is improving, not receding as it did in the preceding four years.  

Real wage growth thus matters because it affects our everyday lives so directly.  It determines whether we can save a little bit more each month, whether we can afford what we want and need, whether we can handle unexpected expenses without going into greater debt, whether we can invest for our children’s education and plan for retirement with greater security.  Real wages reflect economic progress that people actually feel when they balance their household budgets.  

Amplifying those measures of confidence, the Dow Jones Industrial average recently surpassed the symbolic 50,000 milestone for the first time.  While that round number is primarily a psychological marker, it’s not meaningless.  Markets are by nature forward-looking, and investors commit capital on expectations regarding further growth, earnings and stability.  A Dow above 50,000 accordingly reflects confidence that we’ll continue to expand, hire and invest.  Strong markets encourage additional corporate investment, which in turn supports further job and wage growth.  

While challenges remain in some very specific and noticeable economic areas, the cumulative data tells a story that merits greater media acknowledgement.  Jobs are being created faster than predicted.  Inflation is running cooler than predicted.  And real wages are rising because pay is outpacing prices.  Meanwhile, stock markets are signaling optimism about America’s future economic trajectory.  

Real wage growth, in particular, offers the clearest sign that working Americans are gaining ground, not falling further behind.  As paychecks stretch further, families experience tangible improvement in their daily lives.  

As elections approach and Americans must determine which course they’ll follow, it’s important that facts and realities such as these gain the attention that they deserve.