uExpress.com: Figuratively Speaking by John MacIntyre -- (10/08/2006)

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10/08/2006

Percentage of U.S. workers who listen to an iPod, MP3 player, or similar personal music device while working, according to a survey conducted for Spherion: 32

Of those, the percentage who say that listening to music improves their job satisfaction and/or productivity: 79

Source: Spherion. Contact Lesly Baer at (954) 308-6302 or e-mail leslybaer@spherion.com.

Percentage of Americans who are dependent on their next paycheck to meet current living expenses, according to results from the American Payroll Association's 2006 "Getting Paid in America" online survey: 65

Percentage of survey respondents who said the raises they receive each year aren't enough to cover the increasing cost of living: 81

Source: American Payroll Association. Contact Mark Coindreau at (210) 226-4600, ext. 2277, or e-mail mcoindreau@americanpayroll.org.

Percentage of the 400 richest Americans made up by billionaires, according to a survey conducted by Forbes magazine: 100

Number of years outside of 2006 in which the top 400 were all billionaires: 0

Source: Forbes. Contact Elizabeth Wasden at (212) 367-4157 or e-mail ewasden@forbes.com.

Percentage of CEOs who say decision-making ability is the most important skill for a CEO of a fast-growing technology company, according to a survey by Deloitte & Touche of the fastest-growing technology, media and telecommunications companies in North America based on revenue growth over five years: 31

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Percentage who attribute their success to entrepreneurial spirit: 72

Percentage who also attribute their success to sheer determination to succeed: 66

Source: Deloitte Fast 500. Contact Teri Bruno at (714) 536-8407 or e-mail tbruno@aol.com.

Percentage of teens who say that money is less important than personal fulfillment, according to a study conducted by Energy BBDO: 78

Source: Energy BBDO. Contact Chip Walker at (312) 595-2538 or e-mail chip.walker@bbdo.com.

Percentage of Americans (2005) aged 25 or over who have a bachelor's degree, according to the Census Bureau: 24.2

Rank of San Francisco (50 percent), San Diego (40.4 percent), San Jose (36.1 percent) and New York City (32.2 percent) among the major U.S. cities that have the largest concentration of people having obtained bachelor's degrees: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Census Bureau. Contact Robert Bernstein at (301) 763-2603 or e-mail robert.b.bernstein@census.gov.

Percentage of parents with no life insurance coverage who say that the death of the primary wage earner in their household would either make it harder to afford college (40 percent) or college would be completely unaffordable (36 percent), according to survey results released by the LIFE Foundation: 76

Percentage of parents with life insurance coverage equal to at least five times their annual income who say college would be just as affordable or easier to afford if they were to die prematurely: 84

Source: Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education. Contact Brooke Parker at (212) 445-8142 or e-mail bparker@webershandwick.com.

Percentage of U.S. corporate directors who place a higher priority on corporate confidentiality than personal privacy, according to a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute: 85

Assuming the board needed to plug a leak, percentage of surveyed directors who said they would endorse a ruse similar to the one used by HP's detectives to obtain phone records, as long as the deceptive tactics aren't deemed illegal: 50

Source: Ponemon Institute. Contact Susan Jayson at (231) 599-2920 or e-mail susan@ponemon.org.

Average number of breakfast occasions skipped by U.S. consumers per year, according to a survey conducted by Datamonitor: 58.6

Percentage of U.S. consumers who said they had taken active steps to eat more healthily over the previous 12 months: 68

Percentage of U.K. consumers who said the same: 75

Source: Datamonitor. Contact Suzanna Eygabroat at (585) 374-6326, ext.17, or e-mail seygabroat@datamonitor.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe that nuclear energy will play an important role in meeting future U.S. electricity needs, according to a public opinion poll conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute: 81

Percentage of the world's electricity production in 2005 that was provided by nuclear power plants: 16

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute. Contact Scott Peterson at (202) 739-8000 or e-mail jsp@nei.org.

Idle Thought

"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives." -- Albert Einstein, physicist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)