News in Numbers
The proportion of eligible Americans who have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, an increase of 20 percentage points after the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.
The number of times Americans quit jobs in August, the highest amount on record since December 2000.
The increase in homicides among people ages 19 and younger during 2020. As of Oct. 6, 2021, 1,165 people 17 or younger had died from gun violence and 3,216 had been injured.
The proportion of Black residents in 152 counties across 10 southern states that do not have access to the Internet in their homes, compared to only 23 percent of white residents in the same areas. The counties that were included all had populations with at least 35 percent Black residents.
The number of U.S. children who have lost a parent or grandparent who was a primary care and financial provider during the pandemic; more than half of the children who lost their primary caregiver are Black or Hispanic. Researchers estimate that the number of orphaned children increased by 15 percent due to COVID-19.
The proportion of Seattle, Wash., sworn police officers who have not submitted proof of vaccination against COVID-19. All city employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, unless they have religious exemption.
The amount that Tesla must pay Owen Diaz, a Black former worker, after a jury found that Diaz was subjected to racial abuse while working for the electric vehicle company. Diaz was an elevator operator at the company’s Fremont, Calif., factory for nine months.
The initial allotment of funds that states have spent so far from the American Rescue Plan championed by Democrats and President Joe Biden. Large cities have spent 8.5 percent. Many state and local governments reported they were still working on plans for their share of the $350 billion they received as part of the pandemic relief package.
The number of midwestern governors who are collaborating to develop a charging network for electric vehicles. Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have all signed onto the bipartisan plan, called the Regional Electric Vehicle (REV) Midwest Coalition.
The proportion of Americans who approve of Biden’s requirement that most workers get the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo regular testing. Approval is mostly split down party lines — 77 percent of Democrats approve of the mandate while 62 percent of Republicans disapprove.
The proportion of unvaccinated Americans who argue that booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine show they are not working as well as promised.
The date on which the United States will reach its debt ceiling if Congress does not act immediately to change the trajectory, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The number of attorneys working for the St. Louis prosecutor’s office, half as many as five years ago.
The amount of Pennsylvania turnpike fees that went unpaid in 2020. A report found that as the turnpike transitioned into a “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system, some 11 million rides, approximately 7 percent of the total, generated no revenue for the agency.
The estimated amount two Tampa, Fla., men stole from the state in fraudulent unemployment claims in 2020. They could each receive up to seven years in federal prison for conspiracy and identity theft.
The number of years that former Fall River, Ma., Mayor Jasiel Correia will have to serve in prison on extortion charges. Correia, now 29, was elected when he was just 23 years old.
The number of Indigenous people, mostly girls, who have gone missing in Wyoming from 2011 to 2020. A recent report found 21 percent of Indigenous people are missing for 30 days or longer whereas only 11 percent of white people remain missing for that same duration. Additionally, only 30 percent of Indigenous homicide victims are covered by the media, while 51 percent of white victims receive coverage.
The amount of money allocated within the infrastructure bill for cleanup of defunct coal mines over the next 15 years. Some of these abandoned mines have been polluting rivers and streams for decades, causing harm to local ecosystems and contaminating drinking water.
The proportion of Americans who do believe that their social media activity is not very or not at all secure, according to a recent survey. Fifty-six percent of respondents had more faith in the private sector than the federal government when it came to handling security and privacy improvements.
The proportion of hospital ICUs across the nation that are now more than 95 percent full, an increase of 5 percent from July and 15 percent from June.
The cost so far of California’s recall election, with the Secretary of State’s Office predicting the final amount will likely increase to $300 million or more.
The date by which federal employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get weekly testing, according to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.
The inches of rain that some places across the Texas Gulf Coast and southwestern Louisiana could experience as Tropical Storm Nicholas makes landfall.
The estimated cost to fund Amazon’s recently announced college tuition program by 2025. Hourly employees who have worked at the company for at least 90 days will be eligible to have their college tuition and fees paid for, upfront, by the e-commerce giant in an effort by the company to retain workers. Employees will not have to reimburse Amazon for any college payments if the worker decides to leave the company.
The age group at which Black boys and girls are injured by law enforcement 5.3 and 6.7 times more than white boys and girls, respectively, according to a new study by the University of California, Berkeley. Black boys between the ages of 15 and 19 had the highest rate of hospitalization due to police violence.
The number of air travelers who were screened at TSA checkpoints over the Labor Day Weekend, up from 2,289,578 during the same long weekend in 2020 but still short of the pre-pandemic Labor Day weekend in 2019 (6,418,490).
The number of states that prohibit school districts from setting mask mandates. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia require masks be worn in schools.
The percentage of U.S. workers who are members of a union. Labor Day started as a celebration of worker solidarity and was first organized by labor unions. The purpose of the holiday has faded over time as more workers have left unions.
The number of states that have agreed to allow electronic driver’s licenses to be added to digital wallets on Apple devices. Arizona and Georgia will be the first states to enact the feature.
The number of people Amazon is planning on hiring for corporate and technology positions in the coming months, which amounts to more than one-third of Google’s and nearly the entirety of Facebook’s workforce.
