On average, total number of days Americans receive in paid time off (10) plus additional national holidays, such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day (10), according to a survey by Hotels.com: 20
Of the 30 nations surveyed, global average of annual leave and public entitlement: 28 days
Source: Hotels.com.
If giving up sex for a month got their bills paid, percentage of Americans who would skip time between the sheets -- up from 18.5 percent last year, according to a national consumer survey conducted by independent market research firm Toluna, on behalf of BillFloat Inc.: 40.5
Source: BillFloat.
Percentage of adults 18 or older who are married today, compared to 72 percent in 1960, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of long-term data on time use: 51
Percentage of working moms who say they find it very or somewhat difficult to juggle the responsibilities of work and family life: 56
Among mothers with children under age 18, percentage who say they would prefer to work full-time, up from 20 percent in 2007: 32
Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Percentage of private companies that have taken substantial cost-containment measures over the past several years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Trendsetter Barometer survey: 84
Percentage of those companies that have seen sustainable savings as a result: 89
Percentage of the companies that took cost-containment measures during the past one to four years that say they applied the savings to keeping their businesses afloat: 70
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Due to 2013 payroll tax changes, average amount less per month that working Americans are taking home than they did in 2012, according to a survey: $130
Percentage of working Americans who have cut back most on going out to bars and restaurants due to these tax increases: 20
Source: Accounting Principals.
Percentage of men who say they prefer to make a relationship official after a couple of good dates, according to a Zoosk and Glamour.com survey: 42
Percentage of women who prefer to wait at least a few months: 35
Source: Glamour Magazine.
In spite of understanding the problems they face if their mobile device or data is lost, percentage of consumers who reported requiring a passcode or other authentication methods to access their device, according to data from NQ Mobile: 52
Percentage of respondents who reported either losing their device or having one stolen in the past: 25
Of these devices, percentage that were unprotected: 40
Source: NQ Mobile Inc.
Energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010, down almost 10 percent from the 21,098 trillion British thermal units consumed in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 19,061 million Btu
Percentage drop in the consumption of residual fuel oil in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010: 46
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of brides who say online resources such as Pinterest, Facebook and blogs are the best places to find wedding inspiration, according to a survey by David's Bridal: 59
Percentage of brides who use technology during their fittings, from texting pictures to family to posting videos on a social media site: 68
Source: David's Bridal Inc.
Percentage of consumers who follow a brand on its social networking page who feel an acknowledgment from the brand to the comments or links they post makes them feel more connected to that brand, according to a survey by Marketing Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange: 28
Source: Ipsos Open Thinking.
Idle Thought
"It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently, honorably and justly; or to live prudently, honorably and justly, without living pleasurably." -- Epicurus, philosopher
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)