Percentage of working Americans who are failing to save any of their income, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 20
Percentage who cite expenses as their biggest savings obstacle: 39
Percentage who said their job doesn't pay enough to allow them to save: 16
Percentage who said they "haven't gotten around to it": 16
Percentage who cited debt: 13
Source: Bankrate.com.
Percentage of parents who believe that the more curious children are the more likely they are to be successful as adults, according to a survey for Baby Einstein: 94
Ranks of being creative, learning new things faster and more easily, and thinking critically on the list of the top areas that curious kids excel in over their less curious peers: 1, 2, 3
Source: Baby Einstein.
Percentage of workers who admitted they come in late for work at least once a month -- down from 29 percent last year -- according to a CareerBuilder survey: 25
Percentage who said it was a weekly occurrence: 12
Ranks of traffic, oversleeping, bad weather and too tired to get out of bed on the list of the usual excuses why employees are late to work: 1, 2, 3, 4
Percentage of employers who have fired someone for being late: 43
Source: CareerBuilder.com.
When comparing pay between genders overall in the U.S., percentage more that men are paid than women -- in line with other research on the subject, according to the Korn Ferry Gender Pay Index research: 17.6
When comparing the salaries of men and women at the same job level, percentage difference in pay: 7
When comparing the same level within the same company, percentage difference in pay: 2.6
When comparing same level, same company, same function -- percentage difference in pay: 0.9
Source: Korn/Ferry International.
When asked to pick a late-night celebrity to work on their car, percentage of vehicle owners who selected Jimmy Kimmel, according to a survey by the non-profit Car Care Council: 28
Ranks of Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah on the list of: 2, 3, 4
Source: Car Care Council.
Percentage of workers who have admitted to crying at work, according to a survey from staffing firm Accountemps: 45
Percentage of workers who say crying has no negative effect -- it shows you are human: 31
Percentage who said crying is never acceptable at work -- people will perceive you as weak or immature: 32
Source: Accountemps.
Percentage of Americans who plan to do some spring cleaning, spending an average of four days on the process, according to a poll by Sparefoot: 78
Percentage who will shop for new spring clothing, according to a poll by the International Council of Shopping Centers: 57
Source: Goodwill.
Percentage of Americans who report unplugging from work completely while taking time off, according to the Alamo family vacation survey: 37
Percentage who say they put pressure on themselves to work during family vacations: 59
Percentage who say they do so to avoid coming back to a mountain of work: 57
Source: Alamo Rent A Car.
Percentage of Americans who assert that they definitely need to have a vehicle to get to work, according to findings from an Ipsos poll: 78
Percentage of Americans who agree with the sentiment that their car reflects who they are and that it is a reflection of their personality or self: 81
Percentage who consider themselves as someone who is passionate about cars, trucks, motorcycles or other vehicles: 59
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Percentage of millennials who are considering rewarding themselves after completing their tax return, 4 percentage points higher than the general population, according to a survey by eBay: 71
Ranks of new electronics, a new wardrobe and a night out at a restaurant or bar on the list of things Americans plan to reward themselves with: 1, 2, 3
Percentage of Americans who plan to spend their entire refund on a tech purchase: 20
Percentage of millennials who are planning to spend their entire refund on a new car: 37
Source: eBay.
Idle Thought
"It's best to give while your hand is still warm." -- Philip Roth, novelist
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)