Labour economist Paul Osterman's research estimates that more than one in three US workers, about 57 million people, are in what he calls disposable jobs. He identifies three forms: contractors employed by staffing firms who work at client sites, which he puts at 13% of the workforce; freelancers working for organisations, at 5%; and marginal employees with no career ladder and built-in high turnover, at 17%. Staff attorneys and adjunct professors are examples of marginal work. Employers gain by avoiding benefits and training costs, and part-time hours are often kept below the 30-hour threshold that triggers health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Contractors and marginal workers earn less and are less satisfied, and outsourced cleaners have been linked to higher hospital infection rates.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.