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President Donald Trump’s plan to guide cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and thereby reopen it, came apart today when the U.S. and Iran fired on each other. We’ll tell you how the stock market and oil prices reacted below, along with lots of news on gas. Also, RIP Spirit Airlines. And today is “Star Wars” Day: May the 4th be with you. We’re starting off with serious business: Fewer full-time workers are earning a living wage. My colleague Caleigh Wells explains why. — Carrie Barber, newsletter editor

A woman holding a blue plastic basket looks at the deli case at a grocery store.

Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Fewer full-time workers are earning a living wage, a new study says

For many, wages aren’t rising as fast as costs, especially for food, housing, child care and other essentials.

Just over half of full-time workers earn enough to provide for themselves and their families, a fresh report from Dayforce and the Living Wage Institute found. That’s down five percentage points compared to four years ago.

What counts as a living wage depends on how much stuff costs.

“The cost of housing, food, child care and other essentials are elevated,” said Jason Rahlan, global head of sustainability and impact at Dayforce. “Energy prices have recently spiked, of course.”

He said wages have been going up, just not as fast as costs.

“Job growth has recently slowed, and millions of workers haven't seen a meaningful improvement in their financial situation,” Rahlan said.

The report shows familiar demographic gaps: Women are less likely to earn a living wage than men, hourly workers less likely than salaried workers, Black and Latino workers less likely than white and Asian workers.

All of those gaps widened in 2025.

“Certain workers are always more vulnerable when the economy drops in any kind of way,” said Saba Waheed, director of the University of California, Los Angeles’ Labor Center. “When there's an unemployment bump, you often see Black workers to experience it harder, first, and so on.”

Waheed said one way to alleviate wage gaps is to elevate the lowest wages. The federal minimum wage, she pointed out, hasn’t increased since 2009.

News you should know

Let’s do the numbers

The stock market fell from record highs after fighting erupted in the Middle East. The S&P 500 sank 0.4% from its Friday record, the Dow dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.
Spirit Airlines folded over the weekend, costing some 14,000 jobs and potentially driving up airfare for everyone else. Customers with tickets for canceled flights are set to get refunds, while other airlines offered discounted “rescue fares” to stranded passengers.
GameStop is offering an unsolicited $56 billion for auction site eBay. Why is a minnow trying to swallow a whale?
New orders for manufactured goods rose 1.5% in March from February, the Census Bureau said today. Despite war, high energy costs, and tariffs, businesses may be feeling a little more certain.

Oil and gas

The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire today in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. military tried to guide ships through the waterway and reopen it to oil, gas, fertilizer and other cargo.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped to $114.44. A gallon of regular gas averaged $4.45.
Less-budget-friendly skies could drive up the price of gasoline too, if more travelers opt for road trips over flights this summer.
Nearly half of Americans are cutting back on driving because of high gas prices, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. Another 34% changed vacation plans.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I started to think … I have more than I can use, and what I need to do is set a limit on it.”

— Lois Moore, financial industry retiree in South Bloomfield, Ohio

How much do you need to retire comfortably? An average of $1.46 million, a recent survey says, up 15% from last year. Lois Moore is asking the opposite: How much don’t I need? After she inherited more than expected from her mother and “the market started dumping money on me,” she decided to put a cap on her net worth and give serious donations to charity. She explained her decision, and what it’s like spending after a lifetime of saving, in the latest installment of our series“My Economy,” sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks.

HEAR MORE

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The Mandalorian, in his silver helmet , chest and shoulder protectors, carries the Yoda-like Grogu on his back.

Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images

Final note

May the 4th be with the box office?

It’s “Star Wars” Day, and advertising for “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is going into hyperdrive. The franchise’s first film in seven years is tracking for an $80 million opening over Memorial Day weekend. That’s not even close to the $177.3 million “The Rise of Skywalker” made opening weekend in 2019, more like the disastrous “Solo,” which opened Memorial Day 2017. But hey, it’s early, and the Force is still with the franchise: U.S. viewers watched 550 million hours of “Star Wars” content on TV and streaming last year, according to Nielsen data released today.

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