Trump’s Native-Born Job-Creation Claim Based on Questionable Figures

For months, President Donald Trump or members of his administration have used federal data showing a large increase in employment for U.S.-born workers and a decrease in employment among foreign-born workers to claim that “all net job creation” in his second term has been for citizens. And for months, multiple economists and labor experts have said that officials should not do that because these specific figures are misleading.

The figures can mislead because the reported levels of native- and foreign-born workers are influenced by predetermined population estimates for 2025 that the Census Bureau calculated in 2024.