Number Crunch
Since 2016, employers have been seeking creators at a much higher rate
489,000: That’s the percentage jump in job listings featuring the keyword “Creator” in their title since 2016.
The creator economy has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Platforms like YouTube, Substack, Spotify, and TikTok have given creators the ability to monetize their videos, podcasts, and newsletters.
Medium has found a place within that model, too, giving professional and amateur writers alike the ability to share thoughts on the topics that most interest them. If they choose, those writers can earn money for sharing these thoughts.
Facebook plans to feed into the freelance route, rewarding creators with a total of $1…
Number Crunch
Airlines are going on a buying and hiring spree as customers return to the skies
$30 billion: The estimated cost of the 270 airplanes United Airlines is buying in preparation for the return of air travel, according to Reuters. The order is the largest in the company’s history.
The airlines are betting that the great pandemic staycation is over. Many have begun investing heavily in anticipation of consumers once again taking to the skies. United Airlines announced an order of 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets and 70 Airbus SE A321neos in a deal costing over $30 billion (before discounts). The move is part of the company’s plan to invest in over 500 new planes, many…
NUMBER CRUNCH
McDonalds is the latest chain to offer a loyalty rewards program
6000: That’s how many points you need to get a free Happy Meal in McDonald’s new loyalty program, aptly named MyMcDonalds Rewards, which begins its nationwide launch on July 8th.
McDonald’s is the latest in a long line to run a rewards program. Chipotle launched one in 2019. Taco Bell has one. Burger King is testing one. Popeyes just announced one. Like all things in the fast-food industry, if you can’t beat them, you join them. Step aside chicken sandwich wars; the new battlefield is customer loyalty.
After trialing the scheme in November 2020, McDonald’s announced that its rewards program…
Number Crunch
The e-cigarette maker has hooked teens on nicotine and is now facing serious legal repercussions
$40 million: That’s how much e-cigarette maker Juul will pay North Carolina to settle a lawsuit due to the company’s deceptive marketing practices that has caused a new epidemic of addiction amongst the youth. The lawsuit is just one of many for Juul as states and localities throughout the country claim that introducing an alternative to combustible cigarettes didn’t solve a problem, but instead created a new one.
Cigarette smoking causes nearly half a million Americans each year to die. About one in five U.S. deaths are caused by cigarettes. Companies like Juul have sold the e-cigarette as a safe…
Number Crunch
Is WFH a paradigm shift, or a simple carryover from the pandemic?
700,000: That’s the number of white-collar workers who quit their job in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—the highest ever recorded in a month in the bureau’s “professional and business services” category of knowledge workers.
Americans quitting their job has been a growing trend in recent months. About five out of every 100 low-wage workers quit in May, too, with higher unemployment benefits raising the bar for hourly-wage salaries.
White-collar workers make well above that government stipend, but they are still feeling overworked and burned out. The pandemic turned mass remote work from some futuristic concept into a…
Number Crunch
How the rapper-turned-designer is revolutionizing the face of Gap with his latest Yeezy drop
$200: That’s how much Gap’s first piece of clothing with Yeezy is retailing for since rapper and fashion designer Kanye West inked a 10-year deal with the retail giant last year.
Limited edition crossover products often arrive with huge levels of hype and quickly attract a price to match. To date, we’ve seen everything from $90,000 Oreos to various pairs of shoes selling for thousands, including the Nike Yeezy 2 Red that was priced at $7,500. Brand collaborations typically drive high prices due to high demand and limited supply.
So, when Gap x Yeezy finally launched the first product in…
Number Crunch
Blue Origin auctions off its first seat for July launch
$28 million: That’s how much an unnamed bidder spent at auction to aboard Blue Origin’s first flight to earth’s outer limits.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket will shoot over 340,000 feet (64 miles) into the earth’s atmosphere on July 20. The rocket will be boarded by company founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, and this anonymous $28 million man.
A fourth person will also board for the July launch, to be announced later. The New Shepard rocket can seat up to six people.
The proceeds from Blue Origin’s auction will go to the company’s education foundation named Club for the…
And we’d love your help writing it
Marker’s daily column Number Crunch went on hiatus in March. While it used to be written and published by Marker Editors, we’re now resuming the column on a less frequent basis, and opening it up to writers on Medium. Marker contributor Tabarak Khan has done the honors of reopening the series with her fascinating look at how the U.S. Justice Department recovered $2.3 million in Bitcoin from a recent ransomware attack, revealing that cryptocurrencies are not as anonymous or untraceable as some criminals might like to believe.
If you’re interested in writing for this series, take a look at past…
Number Crunch
Blockchain technology still leaves digital crumbs behind
Sixty-four bitcoin, or roughly $2.3 million: That’s how much cryptocurrency the Justice Department recovered earlier this week from the total 75 bitcoin ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The cyberattack shut down the country’s largest oil pipeline in May, prompting gas shortages and price hikes across the country.
The ransom recovery reveals a fundamental misconception that cryptocurrencies are anonymous and not traceable. Cryptocurrencies are not tied to people but to digital keys, making their owners pseudonymous rather than fully anonymous. As explained by the Journal’s David Uberti, criminals have relied on blockchain’s pseudonymity to…
Number Crunch
A global study conducted by Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that 41% of respondents were considering leaving their jobs
41%: That’s the share of respondents in a 30,000-person global survey of workers conducted by Microsoft’s Work Trend Index who say they are considering leaving their jobs, as reported by Bloomberg.
The survey found that 54% of workers say they are overworked, and 39% say they are exhausted. Their bosses, meanwhile, seem not to be sharing in their struggles, as a majority of managers and company leaders surveyed reported that they were thriving at work.
Working remotely during the pandemic appears to be a mixed bag for workers — while some employees value the flexibility it provides, others suffer from…
Marker
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