Ranks of telemarketer, ex, debt collector and friend on the list of the various persons whose calls smartphone users block, according to a study by WhitePages: 1, 2, 3, 4
Source: Dotted Line Communications.
Percentage of male bosses who admit to having an inappropriate relationship with their secretaries, according to a poll by SeekingArrangement.com: 28
Percentage of men who reported they had not slept with their secretaries -- but they would if given the chance: 25
Source: SeekingArrangement.com.
Average percentage lower tax rates that S&P 100 companies pay on international taxes than U.S. taxes, according to analysis by WalletHub: 30
Percentage lower tax rates that tech companies -- including Apple, EBay and Google -- pay abroad than in the U.S.: 80
Number of S&P 100 companies that are actually paying a negative overall tax rate and are therefore due a tax refund (Abbott Laboratories, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, AIG, Bristol-Myers and Verizon): 6
Source: WalletHub.
Percentage of U.S. chief information officers (CIOs) who said communication (lack of face time) is their greatest challenge in managing a remote workforce, according to a survey by Robert Half Technology: 30
Percentage who cited productivity (lack of insight into how work gets done): 22
Source: Robert Half Technology.
Percentage of Americans who consider their lifestyle to be mostly or completely "green," according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 44
Percentage of respondents who say the top reason they have for not living a completely green lifestyle is because it is too expensive: 42
Source: RetailMeNot.com.
Participation rate in the overall labor force of non-institutionalized Americans near or at retirement age (ages 55 or older) in 2013, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), using the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey: 40.3
In 2012, percentage of the workforce represented by Americans aged 55 to 64: 19.2
Percentage of the workforce represented by Americans aged 65 or older: 7
Source: EBRI.
Percentage of Americans who believe economic inequality in the U.S. today is a problem, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 79
Percentage who believe more specifically that it's a major problem: 54
Source: Harris Interactive.
In 2010, of the 64.8 million children of a "householder" who were under the age of 18, percentage who were the biological children of the householder, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 93
Percentage who were stepchildren: 4
Percentage who were adopted children: 2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of grill owners who feel happy when they fire up the grill, according to the 25th annual Weber GrillWatch survey: 56
Ranks of relaxation, a sense of accomplishment, excitement and being adventurous on the list of positive feelings evoked by the act of grilling: 1, 2, 3, 4
Source: Weber-Stephen Products Co.
Percentage of Americans who confirm their town or city offers "curbside collection" of recyclables, according to a survey commissioned ahead of Earth Day by the National Waste & Recycling Association: 55
Percentage of Americans who say they're clear on what materials go in recycling bins: 67
Percentage who know it is necessary to rinse used food containers before placing them into recycling receptacles: 64
Source: National Waste & Recycling Association.
Idle Thought
"Broaden your horizons / Open different doors / You may find a you there / That you never knew was yours." -- Mary Poppins
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)