Drew Meyer is either going to be mountain biking or kayaking this weekend, but he hasn’t made any firm plans. He doesn’t need to. Ever since he bought his minivan this year, he’s had it packed for camping and mountain biking on a moment’s notice, and he has a rack on top for his kayak.

This, after years of poking fun at his friends who drove minivans.

Mr. Meyer, 43, became a convert while renting one for a February business trip. “I got in and started driving and pretty much knew I was going to end up buying one,” he says. Before the trip’s end, he had a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan picked out and financing secured.

Wages for the median workers at the majority of big American companies are higher than they were before the pandemic, with the tight job market helping to lift paydays for many bank tellers, factory workers and software programmers.

Compensation in 2021 for the median worker at 275 companies in the S&P 500 index was higher than in 2019, including 150 companies where it increased 10% or more from 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Half as many firms reported their median worker’s 2021 compensation decreased by 10% or more.

Wages for the median workers at the majority of big American companies are higher than they were before the pandemic, with the tight job market helping to lift paydays for many bank tellers, factory workers and software programmers.

Compensation in 2021 for the median worker at 275 companies in the S&P 500 index was higher than in 2019, including 150 companies where it increased 10% or more from 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Half as many firms reported their median worker’s 2021 compensation decreased by 10% or more.

The battle for tech talent is entering a new phase—and the winners are likely to be the world’s biggest tech companies.

Apple, Amazon, AMZN 3.66%▲ Microsoft, Google and Facebook FB 1.83%▲ parent Meta Platforms have spent years battling for engineers and other skilled workers with each other and the rest of the tech landscape—including legions of cash-drunk startups dangling stock that might someday spell megawealth. Now, as the tech industry is hit by tumbling stock prices and recalibrated financial projections, companies large and small are slowing their hiring and even laying off workers. Even given these challenges, though, the giants now offer safe ports for workers seeking shelter from the gathering storm.

The battle for tech talent is entering a new phase—and the winners are likely to be the world’s biggest tech companies.

Apple, Amazon, AMZN 3.66%▲ Microsoft, Google and Facebook FB 1.83%▲ parent Meta Platforms have spent years battling for engineers and other skilled workers with each other and the rest of the tech landscape—including legions of cash-drunk startups dangling stock that might someday spell megawealth. Now, as the tech industry is hit by tumbling stock prices and recalibrated financial projections, companies large and small are slowing their hiring and even laying off workers. Even given these challenges, though, the giants now offer safe ports for workers seeking shelter from the gathering storm.

Andy Hall recently drove his Tesla Model 3 from his home in Big Horn, Wyo., to Washington, D.C., for his daughter’s graduate-school commencement ceremony. He turned what is normally an 1,800-mile affair into a 10,000-mile, 15-day odyssey with more than 80 stops in places such as Miami Beach and Quebec City.

Dr. Hall, a retired ophthalmologist, is part of a cadre of die-hard Tesla owners who are racing to visit as many of the company’s fast-charging stations, called Superchargers, as possible. It’s a competition without a prize or even a finish line.

Andy Hall recently drove his Tesla Model 3 from his home in Big Horn, Wyo., to Washington, D.C., for his daughter’s graduate-school commencement ceremony. He turned what is normally an 1,800-mile affair into a 10,000-mile, 15-day odyssey with more than 80 stops in places such as Miami Beach and Quebec City.

Dr. Hall, a retired ophthalmologist, is part of a cadre of die-hard Tesla owners who are racing to visit as many of the company’s fast-charging stations, called Superchargers, as possible. It’s a competition without a prize or even a finish line.

Vast settlements dating back to the Middle Ages and featuring earthen buildings and pyramids as tall as eight-story buildings have been discovered hidden in the Bolivian Amazon, scientists said Wednesday in a paper published in the journal Nature.

The landmark findings, made possible with the help of advanced laser-mapping technology capable of penetrating the dense vegetation that has long stymied research efforts in the region, upend long-held beliefs among many experts that the region lacked sophisticated societies until European colonizers arrived in the 16th century.

Vast settlements dating back to the Middle Ages and featuring earthen buildings and pyramids as tall as eight-story buildings have been discovered hidden in the Bolivian Amazon, scientists said Wednesday in a paper published in the journal Nature.

The landmark findings, made possible with the help of advanced laser-mapping technology capable of penetrating the dense vegetation that has long stymied research efforts in the region, upend long-held beliefs among many experts that the region lacked sophisticated societies until European colonizers arrived in the 16th century.

Growth in the U.S. and global economies slowed in May as high inflation and rising interest rates dented demand, business surveys said Tuesday.

Business activity at services businesses in the U.S., eurozone, U.K. and Australia all grew more slowly in May amid rising prices, according to S&P Global surveys. The firm’s purchasing managers index surveys also reported Tuesday that factories in major global economies face supply-chain disruptions related to  and   as well as higher fuel costs and rising wages.

Separate U.S. figures on Monday pointed to slower growth in a segment of the housing market. The Commerce Department said purchases of newly built single-family homes declined in April for the fourth straight month, dropping 16.6% in April from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000. That marked the slowest pace of sales since April 2020 at the start of the pandemic.