Numbers of the Year

10 Numbers That Tell the Story of a Totally Unpredictable 2020

A year ‘business as usual’ didn’t exist

That’s how many days there were this year, even though it felt so much longer.

In 2020, “business as usual” didn’t exist. As companies made momentous moves to keep up with the disruption of a global pandemic, racial and economic disparities became clearer than ever. Some, like Amazon and SPACs, won big, while others, including more than 100,000 restaurants, closed permanently.

Each day, Marker highlights one number that captures a change in the economy. Of those daily numbers, here are the 10 that best encapsulate the year.

1. $16 trillion: The additional economic output the United States would have generated since 2000 if it closed racial gaps.
2. 427,300: How many employees Amazon added to its workforce between January and October this year.
3. 46%: The share of the $103 billion raised through October in U.S.-listed initial public offerings this year that went to special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, according to financial data provider Dealogic.
4. 51%: The share of Black and Latinx workers whose jobs must be done in person and in proximity to others, in comparison, just 41% of white workers hold such jobs.
5. 52%: The share of…