‘The Big Money Show’ panel reacts to new data showing Gen Z hiring has collapsed while older workers stay in the workforce longer.
A new report from Gallup finds that U.S. workers are less optimistic about the job climate and their level of engagement with their current jobs has remained relatively flat.
Gallup released its 2026 State of the Global Workplace report on Wednesday, which showed that while 51% of global workers think it’s a good time to find a quality job, the sentiment among U.S. workers declined to 28% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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That figure represents a notable decline from 46% in the fourth quarter of 2024, continuing a steep downward trend from the 70% reading in the second quarter of 2022.
“Folks with degrees, they’re having a particularly difficult time finding a job,” Jim Harter, chief scientist of workplace management and well-being for Gallup, told FOX Business. “So there’s really a kind of interesting dynamic going on right now where unemployment is fairly low, it’s on the uptick a little bit, but hiring isn’t happening.”
Gallup’s report showed declining engagement among American workers along with lower engagement levels. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
“The job climate, just in terms of people’s freedom, they’re feeling stuck where they’re at. Part of the solution to that is organizations need to get better at driving systems of really solid performance management and good communication between managers and employees,” Harter said.
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When workers feel stuck and like they don’t have a choice about finding another quality job, Harter said that their “engagement will start to drop, and active disengagement will start to go up when people lack choice because they’re stuck in jobs that they don’t want.”
Workers who said they’re looking to find a new job reported not getting much of a response even after applying for multiple jobs, Gallup found.
“We do see that people are applying for jobs, but they’re just not getting much response. There’s just not much out there from a hiring standpoint right now,” Harter said. “It’s just not a really good time right now on the hiring end and, again, unemployment’s fairly low, so people are in jobs – but they’re jobs that they don’t consider to be high quality jobs.”
Workers who are actively looking for new jobs have struggled to get a response, Harter said. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Harter noted that among respondents who say they have the ability to do multiple things, their perception of the job climate was more favorable.
“I think that there’s a big factor in terms of upskilling related to AI that could be a big component of people being able to find jobs going into the future,” he added.
The report’s findings also demonstrated conditions that Gallup has called the “Great Detachment” in which people are actively looking for work or watching for openings while also reporting low levels of satisfaction with their current employer.
“Even though the employees have less choice in terms of leaving their employer to go somewhere else, there’s psychological turnover meaning they’re not bringing their whole selves to help the organization improve,” Harter said.
Highly successful organizations have higher levels of engagement among workers, Harter noted. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The report also found that the three-year rolling average of engaged workers declined a point to 31%, with 52% of workers not engaged and 17% actively disengaged. At 31%, the level of engagement among U.S. workers is at its lowest level since 2014, while the share of actively disengaged workers at 17% was also at 2014 levels.
By contrast, Harter said that the top organizations have 70% or more of their employees engaged, along with managers who are engaged to an even greater extent.
“When you look closely at organizations that are really doing a great job right now, they are figuring out ways to get it done,” he said. “They actually upskill their managers, they get people into the right managerial role – that helps when you flatten the organization and people can take on a higher span of control as managers. They help people see how their work connects to the bigger purpose of the organization.”
“What we’re talking about here is very solvable, but it’s an uphill, kind of against-the-wind battle right now where leaders need to be very intentional about what they do with their staff and particularly with their managers and how they get prepared to coach people on a regular basis and help people feel like they’re a part of what the overall organization is trying to get done,” Harter added.
TEHRAN, Iran — Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), Iran’s primary gateway for international travel, stayed mostly shuttered for routine commercial flights on Wednesday, with only a handful of pre-authorized or military-linked operations reported as the country navigated the fragile two-week ceasefire framework announced by President Donald Trump and Iranian officials.
Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport
Flight tracking sites and aviation authorities showed near-zero commercial activity at the airport south of Tehran on April 8. Major trackers including FlightStats and Flightradar24 listed no departing or arriving commercial flights during much of the day, while scattered reports of Mahan Air cargo or limited long-haul movements to destinations such as Beijing and Shanghai appeared tied to special permissions rather than normal schedules.
The airport has operated under severe restrictions since late February when the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iranian targets escalated, triggering retaliatory actions and widespread airspace closures across the region. Iranian NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) have repeatedly extended prohibitions on civilian aviation in the Tehran Flight Information Region, citing security concerns and active air defense measures. Even after the ceasefire announcement late Tuesday, no immediate full reopening was declared.
The Civil Aviation Organization of Iran and airport management have not issued a clear timeline for restoring normal operations. Officials urged passengers to avoid traveling to the facility unless they hold confirmed tickets on the extremely limited wartime schedule or are collecting arriving passengers on approved flights. Foreign carriers, including Turkish Airlines, Emirates and others, have suspended service to Tehran for weeks, with many extensions running into late April or beyond.
A small number of flights, primarily operated by Iranian carriers such as Mahan Air or Iran Air, continued on a case-by-case basis with prior military clearance. These included occasional cargo or repatriation movements, but passenger capacity remained heavily restricted and subject to last-minute cancellation. International airlines continued to reroute around Iranian airspace, adding hours and costs to long-haul routes between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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The situation mirrors challenges seen at other regional hubs during the conflict. Like Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, IKA has balanced limited civilian needs with heavy military use of facilities and surrounding airspace. Damage reports from earlier strikes near radar installations and infrastructure added caution to any resumption plans. Airport terminals appeared quiet, with reduced staff handling essential services for the few movements that occurred.
Travelers face significant hardship. Thousands of Iranians and foreign nationals remain stranded abroad or inside Iran, with many seeking overland routes through neighboring countries or waiting for rare approved flights. Families separated by the conflict have shared stories of canceled weddings, medical treatments and business trips. Ticket sales for departures from IKA stayed largely suspended, and refund processes proved slow and complicated.
The two-week ceasefire, which hinges on safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalation steps, has raised cautious hopes for gradual normalization of aviation. Iranian officials indicated that once the Home Front Command and military authorities declare conditions safe, civilian flights could resume incrementally. However, as of Wednesday morning, no such declaration had come, and NOTAMs restricting Tehran FIR remained in effect or recently extended.
Aviation experts noted the unprecedented strain on Iran’s air transport sector. IKA normally handles millions of passengers annually, serving as the main hub for long-haul connections to Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf. The prolonged closure has hurt tourism, trade and the national carrier Iran Air, while boosting demand for alternative routes via Turkey, Armenia or indirect connections through the Gulf. Cargo operations have also suffered, affecting supply chains for essential goods.
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Inside the airport, security remained heightened. Passengers on the few permitted flights underwent enhanced screening, and terminal areas outside active gates stayed mostly empty. Maintenance crews continued routine work in preparation for eventual full reopening, but daily activity stayed far below normal levels. The public was generally advised to stay away to reduce congestion and security risks.
Broader economic impacts ripple far beyond aviation. Exporters relying on air freight, businesses with international ties and the tourism sector — already strained before the conflict — face extended recovery timelines. Iranian authorities have coordinated with neighboring countries for limited land border crossings, though those options carry their own logistical and security challenges.
The ceasefire framework announced by Trump, involving a temporary suspension of attacks in exchange for Iranian commitments on maritime safety, offers a potential off-ramp. Yet analysts warn that any violation or breakdown could quickly reimpose full closures. Markets reacted positively to the news with falling oil prices and rising equities, but aviation insiders remain focused on ground-level implementation rather than headlines.
For now, IKA stands as a symbol of how conflict can ground even vital infrastructure. Its modern terminals, expanded in recent years to accommodate growing traffic, now echo with far fewer footsteps. Ground handlers and airline staff manage skeletal operations while awaiting clearer guidance from Tehran and military command.
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Travelers with urgent needs continue monitoring official channels, airline apps and sites such as Flightradar24 for any updates. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization’s website and airport social channels provide the most authoritative notices, though information sometimes lags behind fast-moving events. Those already holding tickets on limited flights should confirm status directly with carriers and arrive with extra time for security protocols.
As April 8 progressed with no major new announcements, many Iranians checked news sites and flight trackers hoping for signs of normalization. The two-week window provides breathing room for diplomacy, but full restoration of IKA’s busy schedule could take additional days or weeks even after a sustained truce.
The airport’s resilience has been tested before during periods of regional tension, with operations typically rebounding quickly once threats subside. Yet the scale and duration of the current disruptions — involving direct strikes and prolonged airspace closures — mark this as one of the most challenging episodes in its history.
For the global community with ties to Iran, the status of Imam Khomeini Airport carries both practical and symbolic weight. Safe and open skies represent a return to normalcy; their restriction underscores the human and economic costs of prolonged instability.
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As the day continued without a breakthrough reopening, passengers and airlines alike prepared for more uncertainty. The coming hours and days will determine whether the ceasefire translates into tangible relief for travelers or remains a fragile pause in a volatile chapter.
Authorities continue to emphasize that safety remains the top priority. Any resumption will follow careful assessment by Iranian military and civilian officials. In the meantime, IKA operates in survival mode — open in name but far from business as usual.
A public spat has broken out among China’s leading artificial intelligence companies as they rush to fill the void left by US startup Anthropic’s decision to cut off access to its Claude models through OpenClaw, a popular open-source AI agent tool.
Key takeaways
Anthropic’s decision to block Claude’s access to third-party tools like OpenClaw has handed Chinese rivals MiniMax and Xiaomi a ready-made recruitment opportunity.
Shanghai-based MiniMax publicly accused Anthropic of stifling AI innovation by locking subscriptions to its own first-party products.
The clash is unfolding amid a worsening global shortage of computational power, driven by surging demand for AI tokens from the rapid growth of AI agents.
Anthropic announced on Sunday that Claude subscriptions would no longer cover usage on third-party tools like OpenClaw, citing the need to prioritise existing customers of its own products.
The decision has sent ripples through the AI developer community and opened a window of opportunity that Chinese rivals have been quick to exploit.
Companies MiniMax and Xiaomi both moved swiftly, encouraging users to switch to their own token subscription plans in the wake of Anthropic’s announcement.
But the competition has not been without friction. Shanghai-based MiniMax took to X to publicly accuse Anthropic of damaging the broader AI community through its new restrictions, arguing that more good ideas of how to use AI come from outside AI labs than within them, and that limiting subscriptions to first-party products stifles innovation before it can take hold.
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The commercial battle is unfolding against a broader and more troubling backdrop. The explosive growth of AI agents has triggered a dramatic surge in demand for AI tokens, the core unit by which AI usage is measured, raising serious questions about whether the industry can sustainably meet that demand amid a worsening global crunch in computational power.
Analysts are watching closely to see whether Anthropic’s move reflects a strategic retreat or a necessary triage, and whether Chinese companies can convert the moment into lasting market share, or whether the same resource constraints that pressured Anthropic will ultimately close in on them too.
Brits are freezing home moves amid fears mortgage rates could soar
Felix Armstrong www.cityam.com
07:59, 08 Apr 2026
Houses for sale(Image: Mirrorpix)
House prices dropped in March as the uncertainty caused by conflict in the Middle East stifled the property market and spiked fears of interest rate rises. Average house prices fell 0.5 per cent last month, reversing the modest 0.3 per cent February increase, according to Halifax’s house price index.
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It is the latest signal the Iran war is shaking confidence in the UK property sector as Britons freeze home moves amid fears mortgage rates could soar. The average property price fell to £299,677 in March, as annual price growth slowed to 0.8 per cent, down from 2.1 per cent in February.
Property prices continue to slump in London, down 1.2 per cent in the year to March, to an average of £536,751, as reported by City AM.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “The recent slowdown in the housing market reflects the wide uncertainty regarding the conflict in the Middle East.
“Concerns about higher energy prices have pushed up inflation expectations, which in turn led to a rise in mortgage rates, reducing confidence that interest rates will be cut this year and dampening the initial momentum in the market seen at the start of the year.”
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Recent data showed signs the UK’s property market was beginning to recover from a subdued period surrounding the Budget, before the Iran war broke out.
Mortgage approvals rebounded in February following a two-year low the previous month, with other house price indices indicating the market was gradually regaining momentum in February and March.
However, experts remain split over whether the Iran war – which housebuilders claim has dented buyer confidence – will present a prolonged threat to the property market.
The Iran war prompted lenders to withdraw mortgage products at considerable speed, with the number of available deals having fallen by a fifth since hostilities began.
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Last week, analysts at Nationwide warned that the prospect of multiple Bank of England interest rate rises this year – despite several cuts having been anticipated just months ago – could push mortgage rates higher, undermining affordability.
Bryden noted that the mortgage rate increases witnessed so far remain below those triggered by Liz Truss‘ notorious 2022 mini-Budget.
Several housebuilding firms have urged the government to improve affordability for first-time buyers, which would subsequently stimulate the market by making new home construction more commercially viable.
Major property industry players – including estate agency Foxtons and housebuilder Berkeley – have indicated that government regulation and tax policies are creating significant challenges for their operations.
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Property consultants Knight Frank suggested that the two-week ceasefire brokered between the US and Iran on Tuesday night could provide a boost to the property market, though an immediate turnaround appears unlikely.
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research, said: “What goes up must come down, but for mortgage rates the drop will be more gradual than the sharp increase triggered by the Middle East conflict, even if the two-week ceasefire deal holds.
“Sentiment in the housing market will improve if the war stops, but its longer-term inflationary impact and weaker demand for UK government debt due its tight financial headroom and apparent inability to cut spending means mortgage rates won’t snap back to where they were in February.”
Union-aligned workers at Inpex’s Ichthys gas facility could walk off the job, after the Offshore Alliance applied to escalate stalled negotiations over conditions.
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