2019 Economic Impact
At Audible, we strive to be a company that makes a positive impact in the communities in which we operate. We moved our headquarters to Newark in 2007 to be part of the city’s renaissance and have created community initiatives to help promote education and literacy, spur the innovation economy, and support local job seekers and business owners. In 2020, in response to Covid-19, we launched Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) to help feed Newark residents in need while keeping restaurants open. The following is our 2019 economic impact in Newark.
Economic Growth
In the aftermath of the financial crisis (2008-2013), Newark lost more than 11,000 jobs. Through communal efforts and public-private partnerships the city saw job growth in 2019. As the fastest-growing private employer in Newark, Audible seeks to bolster this progress by recruiting Newark job seekers and creating opportunities for the city’s residents. We will continue to do so as Newark faces record job loss due to Covid-19 with nearly 39,000 unemployment claims filed between March 21 and July 4, 2020.
Audible’s $530M directinvestment in Newark multipliesto a $775M impact
5 Yrs
In just 5 years, Audible has doubled its workforce in Newark.
11%
Audible accounted for 11% of total jobs added in Newark between 2015 and 2019.
1.5X
1.5x – The average wage for an Audible employee vs average median wage across Newark.
Innovation Economy
To help spur Newark’s innovation economy, Audible Founder and Executive Chairman Don Katz founded Newark Venture Partners (NVP), a venture fund and accelerator that attracts early-stage companies to Newark. NVP and its portfolio companies—55% of which have at least one female founder or founder of color—are creating jobs and revenue for the city and its residents and are helping transform Newark into a hub for tech entrepreneurs.
Newark Venture Partners is helping Newark’s innovation economy grow at a rate on par or above other emerging tech industry hubs.
New Audible jobs are helping to diversify local employment opportunities by sustaining the growth of the local innovation economy.
56% of the growth in Newark’sinnovation economy is driven byindustries Audible operates in
1% Healthcare and Social Assistance
2% Arts and Entertainment
5% Retail Trade
15% Information
36% Manufacturing
41% Professional, Scientific / Technical Services
10k visitors have beenattracted to Newark since 2016 throughNVP portfolio companies and events
Hire, Live, and Buy Local
Audible’s community initiatives help drive Newark’s economic growth by hiring local talent and encouraging employees to live local and buy local. We provide a $500 monthly housing subsidy to employees who live in Newark and incentivize employees to lunch out on Wednesdays at local restaurants. We also cultivate local job seekers through job readiness workshops and training programs and by offering paid internships to Newark high school students.
One in Four Customer Careemployees are hired throughcommunity organizationsin Newark
10%
The monthly rent subsidy of $500 can increase annual take-home pay for a Customer Care worker by 10%+.
65%
65% of Audible employees in the Live Local program moved to Newark since joining Audible and roughly 30% have lived in Newark for longer than 5 years.
27,140
27,140 meals subsidized at local restaurants between September 2017 and December 2019 have injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Newark economy as part of Audible’s Lunch Out Wednesday program.
Tripled
The Live Local program has tripled the number of employees living in Newark.
An estimated $424,000is injected annually intothe local economy for every10 Live Local Participants
15% of Audible’s headquartersemployees live in Newark
Download Audible 2019 Economic Impact Study
A PDF of the study with additional statistics on Audible’s impact in Newark is available.
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Methodology
To quantify Audible’s support of Newark and to continue to optimize our efforts, we worked with HR&A Advisors, an independent firm that specializes in economic development for cities, to measure our economic impact. They analyzed Audible’s one-time and ongoing expenditures from the past five years.
To quantify Audible’s support of Newark and to continue to optimize our efforts, we worked with HR&A Advisors, an independent firm that specializes in economic development for cities, to measure our economic impact. They analyzed two categories of Audible’s spending from the past five years.
This includes one-time expenditures, such as renovation and fit out, and ongoing expenditures, like employment and wages, and their direct, indirect and induced impacts on jobs and economic activity through support and purchases made by Audible and by Audible employees and their households.
Input
Renovation & Fit Out
Employment & Wages
Output
Direct Impacts
Jobs and economic activity supported directly by Audible.
Indirect Impacts
Jobs and economic activity supported by purchases made by Audible.
Induced Impacts
Jobs and economic activitysupported by purchases made by Audible employees and their households.