Key American industry seeing blue-collar jobs boom as Trump's re-shoring policies pay off

FIRST ON FOX: Critical blue collar manufacturing jobs in the U.S. are making inroads after years of Biden-era offshoring hollowed out the workforce, according to a new economic report.

A Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report says 72,000 manufacturing jobs have been added in 2026 alone, many of them due to a rise in the manufacturing of durable goods like metal and transportation equipment. The advisors say this is a reverse of a Biden-era trend that saw 200,000 manufacturing jobs disappear in the last two years of the former president's administration.

Not only is the current administration's focus on re-shoring jobs contributing to the uptick, but so are his tariff policies, according to the CEA, a White House agency responsible for providing President Donald Trump with economic analysis.

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A Corning employee handles optical fiber as part of the manufacturing process that supports broadband and telecommunications infrastructure. (Courtesy of Corning)

In particular, Trump's landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) has laid the groundwork for American companies to expand in the United States, instead of shipping jobs overseas, according to the report. The bill's provisions include allowing manufacturers an immediate 100% tax deduction on expenses related to new factory building, and purchasing machinery and equipment.

The report highlights success stories from corporations that are reinvesting in Americans and expanding their businesses.

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For example, the 100% expensing provision in the OBBB has helped Jergens, a manufacturing company based in Ohio, expand to Illinois.

"Since the passage of the bill [OBBB], our employees are voluntarily working additional hours," the company's CEO, Jack Schron, said. "They are keeping more of what they earn, putting more money back into the American economy and Jergens has a ready workforce. It is a win-win-win: a win for the employee, for Jergens and for the United States economy."

A plant employee works on the top load laundry production line at GE Appliances on Aug. 8, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images for GE Appliances)

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Schron added that 83% of his workers are picking up overtime after the OBBB provision established no taxes for overtime work.

In another example touted in the CEA report, a company in North Carolina, Ketchie Inc., has expanded its workforce by 25% after taking advantage of the 100% expensing provision to purchase new machinery. The report says the company waited to buy the equipment until the OBBB passed.

As for wages, manufacturing workers are seeing benefits, too, with their pay increasing by 7.9% since January 2025.

"Adjusted for inflation, this means that blue-collar manufacturing workers are earning nearly $2,500 more per year, on average, since President Trump took office," the report says.

Trump has repeatedly defended tariffs as a key pillar of his economic agenda, saying they will bring manufacturing back to the United States and generate revenue as Republicans seek to hold Congress in the November elections. (Mike Kropf/Getty Images)

It also touts figures from the construction industry, including 100,000 construction jobs added since Trump took office.

Semiconductor chip manufacturing, an industry in which the United States typically competes with China, is on the rise in the United States too.

Micron is building memory chip plants in Idaho, Virginia and New York, which the report says is a $250 billion investment in the United States. Apple is investing $600 billion in American semiconductor production, too.

The report also says that major pharmaceutical companies like GSK and Gilead are investing billions of dollars in the United States, along with automakers like Stellantis.

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An employee wearing a cleanroom suit walks inside the GlobalFoundries semiconductor manufacturing facility in Malta, New York, US, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Cindy Schultz/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

All told, the reshoring and tariff policies have resulted in $11 trillion in investments in the United States during Trump's second term in office, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the economy is on everyone's mind with only a few weeks left until the midterm elections. Inflation, particularly high gas and grocery prices, continue to impact Americans before they head to the polls.

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According to a Fox News Poll, the cost of everyday items is a hardship for voters: 61% say gas prices are a major problem, up from 48% two years ago, while 52% say the same for healthcare costs, up from 44%. Majorities also view housing costs (54%, down from 60%) and grocery prices (62%, down from 66%) as major problems.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the economy is worse under the Trump administration than before.