(AURN News) — As President Donald Trump enters the fifth month of his second term, new data suggests that the economic picture for average Americans is far more grim than headline numbers suggest.
While the federal government reported a 4.2% unemployment rate for April, the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, or LISEP, paints a different picture. According to LISEP, 24.3% of the U.S. labor force is functionally unemployed — a figure that includes part-time workers and job seekers often excluded from official counts.
Real earnings are also slipping. The institute reported that True Weekly Earnings, or TWE, fell to $1,000 per week in the first quarter of 2025. TWE, as defined by LISEP, reflects earnings for all members of the workforce, including part-time workers and those seeking employment.
At the same time, the cost of living is climbing faster than official government data shows. LISEP says the true cost of living has surged 9.4% over the past year — more than double the federal Consumer Price Index, which rose 4.1%.
“True Weekly Earnings” and “true cost of living” are among the institute’s alternative economic indicators, aimed at reflecting real conditions on the ground — and both show a widening gap between headline figures and lived experience.
Despite these pressures on households, Wall Street and corporate America continue to benefit, with Bitcoin hitting new highs and billions in new Trump-focused business deals announced.
Trump’s proposed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which is expected to add trillions to the deficit, could bring even more financial strain if passed.
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