Economic downturns typically make it easier for enterprises to fill open positions, as more workers are chasing fewer jobs.
That's especially the case with contingent labor — freelancers, contractors, consultants and other workers in the gig economy — as they are typically easier to find and hire than full-time employees, whether for picking and packing in a warehouse, or for programming and IT management tasks.
The shelter-in-place orders intended to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led to an economic slowdown, with demand for many products and services falling dramatically, resulting in widespread layoffs. In April, for example, over 100,000 IT pros lost their jobs, according to Janco Associates.
Quite a lot has been going on:
Prices for U.S. consumers are up where it matters most - Marketplace
U.S. consumer prices increased 0.6% in June, after three months of declines, with a big jump in gasoline prices accounting for over half of the gain. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the increase in the consumer price index followed declines of 0.4% in March, 0.8% in April and 0.1% in May, as the hit to demand caused by the widespread shutdowns of the economy kept a lid on prices.
The June report showed that energy prices jumped 5.1% with gasoline costs surging 12.3%. However, even with that gain gasoline pump prices are 23.4% below where they were a year ago.
How clothing can be a 'tool of resistance' - Marketplace
This Portland Marketplace Is Just for Indigenous Vendors – Next City
Lori Tazbah Tapahonso, right, at a marketplace event pre-COVID-19. (Photo courtesy Portland Indigenous Marketplace)
Lluvia Merello and Chance Starr launched their craft booth Indigenous Come Up in 2017, by selling at native events and pow-wows across the Portland area. To expand the business, the pair decided they would sell at any marketplace they were accepted into.
It planted a seed in Merello's mind: What if there were more marketplaces specifically for Indigenous vendors, ones that were not only accessible to join but offered a culturally sensitive, collaborative environment to grow their business? She had no budget or location secured. But determination led to the founding of the Portland Indigenous Marketplace in 2018, which recently became a nonprofit and has successfully transitioned to virtual marketplace events.
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COVID-19 devastated workers in a Brooklyn neighborhood - Marketplace
Father Edward Mason remembers when he realized COVID-19 was going to be devastating to his community in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York City. It was back in mid-April . In the local public housing complex, a lot of seniors weren't answering their phones. “And when they went into the apartments, they found 10 seniors who had passed away,” he said. “Alone in their apartment. Predominantly Black, with a heavy Latino influence as well.”
She wasn’t surprised. “I don’t want to say it was intentional. But I see it as neglect. Historical neglect of our community. It has always experienced this.”
Ebony Crown Launches Marketplace for Curated Black-Owned Hair & Beauty Brands
Founded in May 2020 , Ebony Crown is working on curating and highlighting Black-owned hair and beauty businesses that normally are unable to reach the demographic they serve. The company's mission is driven by the philosophy that money spent in the Black hair & beauty space should go back to Black-owned companies.
"Only 15% of the $2.5 billion dollars spent in the black hair and beauty market go to Black entrepreneurs," said Onyekachi Amadi , founder and chief executive officer, Ebony Crown. "It doesn't make sense that so much of our money is being given to companies that don't invest back into our communities or have a workplace/company reflective of the demographic they cater to."
An exclusive look at VTS's new marketplace and marketing tool - Business Insider
Last month, it launched VTS Market and Marketplace, a leasing marketplace that integrates directly into the company's lease management software, after a few months of test-runs in markets like New York.
That integration into VTS's lease management software, CEO Nick Romito told Business Insider, is expected to facilitate fast adoption of the product, as its lease management product is in use at more than 12 billion square feet of commercial leases, including more than 60% of national Class A office space.
For a Honduran textile factory, the pandemic means uncertainty - Marketplace
“Things have been challenging, to say the least,” said Eric Joo, general director at the United Textiles of America, a polyester yarn manufacturer located in Choloma, Honduras. The Honduran textile industry saw a particularly steep decrease in U.S. imports in May, down over 42% from the previous year.
But for Joo, the issues started even before, when his company’s largest suppliers were locked down.
“We bring in most of our raw materials from Asia,” Joo said in an interview with Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal. “Initially, China was on lockdown, so we weren’t able to get our goods in. And the rest of industry around us was asking us to hurry up and keep delivering as the retailers and brands in the United States started panicking, trying to keep goods flowing.”
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