Amazon said today it’s planning to hire 50,000 workers to pack and ship orders at its fulfillment centers around the country. It’s holding job fairs nationwide on August 2, which it’s calling “Amazon Jobs Day.” The company plans to make thousands of on the spot job offers next week at the locations holding events, which include Baltimore, Maryland; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Chattanooga, Tennessee. For some perspective, 50,000 is about a quarter of the jobs the entire economy has been adding in each of the past few months. But how big a deal is it, really? 

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