Real Wages under every president, month by month
At month 21 in office, Trump II is at −1.6%: #7 of 8 administrations (average −0.9%). Official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
Every administration at month 21
| Rank | Administration | Value at month 21 | Change since month 1 | Latest / end of month 48 | Primary federal source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ronald Reagan | 0.7% | +2.8 pts | 1.3% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #2 | Donald Trump (first term) | 0.6% | −1.2 pts | 3.9% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #3 | George W. Bush | −0.3% | 0.0 pts | 0.0% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #4 | Barack Obama | −0.9% | −3.9 pts | −0.6% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #5 | Joe Biden | −1.4% | −3.0 pts | 1.4% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #6 | Bill Clinton | −1.6% | −1.6 pts | 0.0% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #7 | Donald Trump (second term) · in office | −1.6% | −3.8 pts | −1.6% (month 21) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
| #8 | George H. W. Bush | −2.8% | −1.0 pts | −0.3% (month 48) | Bureau of Labor Statistics · LES1252881600Q |
Methodology and source verification
Year-over-year % change in median usual weekly earnings of full-time workers in constant dollars (BLS, quarterly).
Every administration is aligned to its own inauguration: month 1 is the month it took office, and the comparison runs to month 48 (the first term). Each administration is compared at the same month in office, so a president halfway through a term is never measured against another's full four years.
Primary source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), series LES1252881600Q, refreshed hourly. Latest observation 2026-07-01, first published 2026-10-21. Full methods: methodology.