Antoni has been paying attention to the trend, noting in a social media post last month that native-born Americans have lost 1.2 million jobs over the past year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment has risen 1.3 million.
But things weren’t always this way, Antoni told FOX Business, noting that the amount of jobs for both foreign-born and native-born workers was growing prior to 2020.
“There were jobs available for everybody,” Antoni said, adding that wage growth was also exceeding inflation during former President Trump’s time in office.
“Under the Trump administration, there was a very different influx of foreign labor,” Antoni continued. “What you had during the Trump economy was more skilled labor.”
With a more even disruption of foreign labor coming in across multiple skill levels, competition in the labor force increased throughout the entire market and did not only impact low-skilled workers looking to enter the job market.
Former President Trump speaks about the economy, inflation and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on Aug. 29, 2024, in Potterville, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)
“These are more productive workers. They’re adding more to GDP, they’re adding more to our higher standard of living. That’s really what we want in an immigration system,” Antoni said.
Making matters worse is inflation, Antoni argued, noting that the lower wages mixed with higher prices sends an ominous message to native-born workers.
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“By essentially keeping wage growth very, very low for low-skilled jobs, in a time of high inflation, when people are going to demand more and more money… you’re effectively telling a lot of young Americans it’s not worth it to start your career right now,” Antoni said.
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson argued that the “Biden-Harris Administration reversed the catastrophic job losses we inherited from Donald Trump, creating the strongest economy in the world and breaking the record for creating American jobs in a single term.”
“What’s more, the radical MAGAnomics and Project 2025 agendas supported by Republican officials would kill American jobs and reverse surging investment in domestic manufacturing,” the spokesperson added.
