Percentage of hiring managers who agree with the statement, "Today's youth do not have the same work ethic as previous generations have had," according to a survey conducted for SnagAJob.com: 56

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Ranks of birthdays, someone else's birthday, Social Security numbers and wedding anniversaries among the numbers most important to Americans, according to a survey conducted by ING: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Percentage who said their birthday or someone else's birthday is the most important number to them, respectively: 26, 22

Percentage who said their Social Security number or wedding anniversary is the most important to them, respectively: 16, 16

Percentage who said a phone number: 12

Source: ING U.S. Financial Services.

Percentage of Americans who say they know someone who has an unfaithful spouse, according to the March 14-16 USA Today/Gallup Poll: 54

Percentage who say they would publicly stand by their spouse at the podium if that spouse were an elected official who had to face the media to answer questions about an affair: 36

Percentage of Americans who would tell their elected-official spouse to face the media alone: 61

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of U.S. employees who say they have taken "mental health days" to recover or recharge, according to a survey conducted by ComPsych: 82

Percentage who say family and relationship issues are the most likely cause: 30

Percentage who say work stress/workload: 20

Percentage who say personal issues (financial, legal, other): 15

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Percentage growth for 2007 in the number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more (not including primary residence), according to a report, "Affluent Market Insights 2008," released today by Spectrem Group: 2

Percentage growth in the number of these households in 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively: 8, 11, 21

Total number of these households: 9.2 million

Source: Spectrem Group.

Percentage of U.S. workers who say women have made important advancements in the workplace over the past 10 years, according to a study conducted by Adecco: 95

Percentage of U.S. workers who say the glass ceiling still exists nonetheless: 86

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of U.S. citizens ages 19 to 39 who say they are "financially independent," according to a survey conducted by AARP: 57

Percentage of U.S. citizens ages 19 to 39 who say they receive financial support from family and friends: 33

Source: AARP.

Year that Wanamaker's, one of the most famous department stores in America, opened for business, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1877

Year that a major renovation of the store created the Grand Court, including the installation of a huge pipe organ that today is the largest in the world: 1910

Estimated number of traditional department stores in the U.S. today: 3,700

Estimated value generated by these stores in annual sales: $87 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of working adults who believe it is important that companies offer employees wellness programs by pairing personalized coaching with employee wellness initiatives to maintain a healthy lifestyle, according to a poll by Workplace Options: 76

Number of times more likely that coaching will bring success to patients in reducing total cholesterol and other coronary risk factors compared to patients who were prescribed medication but not coached, according to the Cardiovascular Review and Report by Yale University: 2

Source: Workplace Options.

Percentage of workers who returned to the workforce in the last 12 months after taking at least one year off who said they found a job in less than one month, according to a survey from CareerBuilder.com: 45

Percentage who said they found a job in one to six months: 33

Percentage who said their job hunt lasted more than a year: 14

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion." -- Abraham Lincoln

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of American white-collar workers who say they feel "inundated with information" at their workplace, according to a survey conducted by LexisNexis: 70

Percentage who say they feel they are headed for an information "breaking point": 41

Percentage who say they wish they could spend less time organizing information and more time using what information comes their way: 68

Percentage who say that not being able to access the right information at the right time is a "huge time-waster": 85

Source: LexisNexis.

Percentage of all stories carried by newspapers, television and the Internet last year that were about Iraq or the 2008 presidential election, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism: 26

Percentage accounted for by news about countries aside from the U.S., Iraq, Iran and Pakistan: 6

Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Percentage of homeowners who take on their own do-it-yourself projects, according to a national survey by Floor and Decor: 67

Percentage of respondents who ranked painting walls as the most common household remodeling project completed within the last five years: 70

Ranks of installing plumbing fixtures (25 percent) and installing cabinets (24 percent) that home owners perceive as the most difficult remodeling projects to do yourself: 1, 2

Source: Floor and Decor.

Percentage of parents who know their family should eat a balanced diet, according to a national survey by YMCA of the USA and Eli Lilly: 91

Percentage who say their household actually does: 56

Percentage who know their family should exercise regularly: 93

Percentage who say their household does: 45

Source: YMCA.

Percentage of HR executives worldwide who say that the "war for talent" is and will be a key and enduring business issue over the next 10 years and beyond, according to a survey conducted by Resources Global Professionals: 82

Percentage of HR executives who say they are planning to hire external resources: 90

Percentage who say they are looking offshore for talent: 60

Source: Resources Global Professionals.

Percentage of U.S. executives who say they believe markets will recover from the current recession this year, according to a survey conducted by TheLadders.com: 56.5

Percentage of U.S. executives who say they are concerned a recession will have an impact on their income growth: 59.7

Source: TheLadders.com.

Number of low-income children across the U.S. who take part in the Federal School Breakfast Program every month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 10 million

Estimated number of children who take part in the National School Lunch Program every month -- either at no cost or at a reduced price: 30 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of Prague, Budapest and Lisbon as the best bargain European cities, according to the results of the annual worldwide European travel survey by TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of London, Paris and Rome as the most expensive European cities: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of sales professionals who say they are happy with the way they are managed, according to a survey by SalesDog.com: 70

Percentage who say they feel adequately recognized for their achievements: 64

Percentage who say their management's sales expectations or quotas are realistic: 75

Source: SalesDog.com.

National rank of Ohio in new business development and expansion, meriting the 2007 Governor's Cup Award, according to the Ohio Business Development Coalition: 1

Number of years that Ohio has been awarded the Governor's Cup, tying Texas for the most wins when compared to other states: 6 (1993, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2006 and 2007)

Source: Ohio Business Development Coalition.

Idle Thought

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." -- William James, psychologist (1842-1910)

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of U.S. workers who say they have become very sleepy or fallen asleep at work in the past month, according to a survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation: 29

Percentage of U.S. workers who say they have arrived late at work in the past month because of sleepiness: 12

Percentage of U.S. workers with more than one job who say they get a good night's sleep only a "few times" a month or less: 43

Number of Americans who chronically suffer from sleep problems and disorders: 50 million

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Ranks of Warren Buffett (net worth: $63 billion) and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu ($60 billion) among the world's richest people as of Feb. 11, 2008, according to a study conducted by Forbes: 1, 2

Number of Americans among the world's 20 richest people in 2006: 10

Number of Americans among the world's 20 richest people in 2008: 4

Number of Indians among the world's 10 richest people (more than any other country): 4

Source: Forbes.

Cost of traffic crashes each year in the U.S., according to a study conducted by the AAA that calculates cost based on property damage, lost earnings, medical costs, emergency services, legal costs and travel delays: $164.2 billion

Cost of car crashes each year in New York and Los Angeles, the two largest U.S. cities with the highest cumulative annual car crash costs, respectively: $18 billion, $10 billion

Source: AAA.

Percentage of small-business owners who say they plan to retire and stop working completely in their businesses in the long run, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey: 11

Percentage of small-business owners who say they expect their small businesses to keep going after they stop working: 62

Percentage who feel their businesses will stop: 33

Source: Gallup.

U.S. homeowners' equity in their homes in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve: 47.9 percent

Year in which Americans' equity in their homes last fell below 50 percent, based on data tracked since 1945: Never

Source: U.S. Federal Reserve.

Percentage of employees who live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent study by the American Payroll Association: 67

In 2008, a leap year, number of extra paychecks that employees paid on Tuesdays or Wednesdays can expect to receive: 1

Source: American Payroll Association.

Percentage of Americans who filed their tax returns by mid-February 2008, according to a survey conducted by BIGresearch: 28.5

Percentage of Americans who will prepare their tax return using a computer software program: 31.5

Percentage who will do it by hand: 14.7

Percentage who will use an accountant: 23.5

Percentage who will use a tax preparation service: 18.7

Percentage who will have a spouse, friend or other relative handle it: 11.6

Source: BIGresearch.

Percentage of workers who said their jobs would be more difficult if they did not work in the same office as their supervisors, according to a survey developed by OfficeTeam: 48

Of this group, percentage who felt it would be much more difficult: 27

Percentage of managers who said it is important that all staff members work in the same location: 58

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of college students seeking jobs who say they expect it will take them only three or fewer months to find a job, according to a poll conducted by CollegeRecruiter in March 2008: 74

Percentage who said the same in January and February 2008, respectively: 69, 65

Source: CollegeRecruiter.com.

Dollars invested in 221 "clean technology" deals worldwide in 2007, according to data released by Dow Jones VentureSource: $3 billion

Percentage increase from the $2.1 billion invested in 173 similar deals in 2006: 43

Percentage of global clean-technology investment in 2007 accounted for by the United States, according to the report: 83

Source: Dow Jones VentureOne.

Idle Thought

"Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself." -- Tom Wilson

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600