Among adults ages 19 to 35 who did not complete high school, percentage who said "absence of parental support or encouragement" was a reason they dropped out, according to a survey on behalf of Everest College: 23

Percentage who said "becoming a parent": 21

Source: Everest College.

By 2016, estimated number of small- and medium-business (SMB) employees who will be mobile workers, according to a Techaisle report: 298 million

Percentage of SMB employees who will be working from home by 2016: 25

Source: Techaisle.

Average wedding budget in 2012 (excluding the honeymoon), according to TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com 2012 Real Weddings Survey: $28,427

Average spending for a wedding in Manhattan, the most expensive place to get married: $76,678

Average spending for a wedding in Alaska, the least expensive place to get married: $15,504

Source: The Knot.

Percentage of Americans who say saving time is very important, according to the results of a national survey from mytimeheroes.com: 78

Percentage of respondents who would rather spend an extra hour with their children or significant other than waste it on mundane activities: 90

To free up that extra hour, percentage of survey participants who reported they would like to have more help around the house: 70

Source: ServiceMaster.

Average amount of money per tooth left by the Tooth Fairy in 2012, an increase of 15 percent over the $2.60 left in 2011, according to a survey by Visa: $3

Percentage of children who receive less than a dollar, down from 7 percent last year: 3

Percentage of children who receive more than $5, compared to 3 percent last year: 8

Source: Visa USA.

Percentage chance of infection by unexpected malware for consumers who procure pirated software, according to a study commissioned by Microsoft Corp. and conducted by IDC: 33

As a result of these infections, estimated number of hours that consumers will spend identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of malware: 1.5 billion

Cost of this recovery: $22 billion

Source: Microsoft.

Percentage of Americans who believe that the U.S. faces a shortage of highly skilled workers, according to a survey conducted for TechNet by Zogby Analytics: 64

Percentage who say immigration policy should encourage highly skilled workers to stay in the country: 63

Source: TechNet.

Percentage of job seekers who proclaimed that their job search was "top priority," according to the online job-matching service survey: 68.1

Percentage of TheLadders' survey respondents who agreed that a resume should be no longer than two pages: 81.1

Percentage who "use privacy settings on personal accounts" and social networks to ensure employers find the best professional profile both online and in person: 51.4

Source: TheLadders.

Year that the Philadelphia Flower Show, now covering 33 acres and the largest such indoor event in the world, first opened its doors: 1829

In the U.S., percentage of households that take part in some form of gardening: 70

Estimated number of flower, nursery stock and supply wholesalers that sustain the country's flower shops and garden centers: 112,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of those Americans whose total annual household income is $75,000 or greater, percentage who indicated they have used, or will use, their tax refund this year to pay down their debt, according to the results of a ShopAtHome.com survey: 41

Of those with a total annual household income of less than $35,000, percentage who said they would save a portion of their refund: 28

Source: ShopAtHome.com.

Idle Thought

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." -- Norman Vincent Peale

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

Percentage rise in global recorded music revenues in 2012 (boosted by downloads, subscriptions and other channels), according to the IFPI Digital Music Report 2013: 0.3

Estimated percentage growth in digital revenues (to $5.6 billion in 2012 and now accounting for 34 percent of global industry revenues): 9

Percentage increase in download sales in 2012, representing 70 percent of overall digital music revenues: 12

Source: IFPI Digital Music Report.

Percentage of U.K. and U.S. consumers who believe they often know more about the products and services they are inquiring about than the call center agent dealing with their call, according to research from BT Group and Avaya: 70

Percentage of people who thought agents struggled to answer their questions: 80

Percentage who believed they'd been put on hold because agents didn't know what to say: 85

Source: BT Group.

During spring break, number of alcoholic drinks the average male reportedly drinks per day, according to research by CWR Partners: 18

Number of alcoholic drinks per day the average female drinks: 10

Estimated percentage of spring breakers who drank until they got sick or passed out at least once: 50

Source: CWR Partners.

Percentage of consumers who say they have compared repair job quotes between the auto dealership and an independent repair shop, according to a survey conducted by AutoMD.com: 78

Percentage of those consumers who said the results show that independent repair shop quotes are more affordable: 87

Source: AutoMD.com.

Average amount of sleep experienced by both self-described exercisers and self-described non-exercisers, according to the results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America poll: 6 hours and 51 minutes

Percentage of vigorous exercisers who reported getting a good night's sleep: 67

Percentage of moderate exercisers: 58 percent

Percentage of light exercisers: 56 percent

Percentage of non-exercisers: 39 percent

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of all children afflicted with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, the most common neuro-developmental disorder of childhood, affecting three times as many boys as girls, according to research by William Barbaresi of Boston Children's Hospital: 7

Percentage of the ADHD children contacted as adults who were free of psychiatric disorders: 37

Percentage of the children with ADHD who still had ADHD as adults (ascertained through structured neuropsychiatric interviews): 29

Source: Boston Children's Hospital.

Percentage of respondents globally who say that their mobile devices have helped them to "fit in" rather than stand out, according to findings of a global research study by McCann Worldgroup: 74

Percentage more likely respondents say they are to be outgoing on their mobile devices than face to face: 50

Source: McCann Worldgroup.

Average one-way daily commute for workers across the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey: 25.5 minutes

Percentage of U.S. workers who have commutes of 60 minutes or longer: 8.1

Ranks of New York state, Maryland and New Jersey on the list of states that show the highest rate of long commutes: 1, 2, 3

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

When it comes to selecting a spring vacation destination, percentage of consumers who said affordability is the most important factor, according to the RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report: 85

Ranks of security or safety, availability of activities such as water sports or hiking, whether the destination is located in the U.S., and family friendly on the list of important considerations when selecting a spring vacation: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of people who said they'd be willing to set wellness goals if it did not change their day-to-day life, according to findings from the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters survey: 80

Percentage of respondents who think it is important to get the proper amounts of vitamins and nutrients each day: 95

Percentage of people who said a healthy diet is important for good health: 94

Percentage who cited regular exercise: 90

Source: GMCR Wellness Collection.

Idle Thought

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -- Lao Tzu

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

Percentage of U.S. private companies that are embracing bold innovation initiatives, such as creating novel products and services never before seen by the marketplace, to help them fulfill their growth agendas, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S.'s Trendsetter Barometer survey: 39

Percentage of businesses that are focusing on products and services that would be newly offered by their companies but would not be new in the marketplace as a whole: 37

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Percentage of HR professionals worldwide who do not know how their workforce's potential is affecting the company's bottom line, according to SHL's Global Assessment Trends Report 2013: 77

Ranks of an organization's "need to engage their talent," "cultivate strong leaders," "performance management," "workforce planning/talent analytics" and "training" on the list of HR's 2013 priorities to drive change: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: SHL. Contact Media Relations at 609-279-0050 or email US@shl.com.

Despite St. Patrick's Day being one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the U.S., percentage of Americans age 21 and over who don't know that St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Tullamore Dew: 51

Percentage of respondents who falsely believe that the holiday (March 17) marks the saint's birthday (it marks the day of his death): 34

Source: Tullamore Dew.

Consecutive years that New York has hosted a St. Patrick's Day Parade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 249

The odds that a male born in 1970 is named Patrick: 1 in 162.4

Odds in 2008: 1 in 655.7

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of single adults age 50 to 75 who said they are open to dating, according to Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey data: 56

Percentage of all single baby boomers who are actively dating, but not necessarily looking for love and marriage: 45

Percentage who want to find love and get married: 11

Source: Del Webb.

Year that the ratification of the 16th Amendment (which established the modern federal tax law) was proclaimed, according to CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business: 1913

Estimated number of words in the tax code: 4 million

Number of words in the original amendment, nearly "tweetable": 164

Percentage "normal income tax" levied under the 1913 law on an individual's net income from $0 to $20,000 ($0 to $465,212 in today's dollars): 1

Source: CCH.

Ranks of uncomfortable seats/limited legroom, costly airline fees and ticket prices, unpredictable flight delays, and long security lines on the list of the biggest complaints about air travel, according to the results of the annual air travel survey by TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of respondents who say that giving "more legroom" is the No. 1 thing airlines should do to improve the in-flight experience: 38

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of Americans who were able to locate the Central American nation of Costa Rica on a map showing Central America and the Caribbean and given five multiple choice options, according to the results from a research survey commissioned by the rental website forrentcostarica.com: 37

Percentage who believed the correct answer was not shown on the map: 20

Source: Picobarn.

Percentage of young girls between the age of 8 and 18 who have ever worn makeup who have negative feelings about their image when not wearing makeup, associating a "bare face" with feeling insecure and unattractive, according to a survey by The Renfrew Center Foundation: 20

Ranks of "self-conscious" (20 percent), "unattractive" (17 percent) and "naked/as though something is missing" (15 percent) on the list of ways these girls said going without makeup made them feel: 1, 2, 3

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have shopped for groceries online, according to a survey from CouponCabin.com: 15

Percentage of U.S. adults who haven't shopped for groceries online who said they would be at least somewhat likely to do so if online groceries were less expensive than buying them in the store: 70

Source: CouponCabin.

Idle Thought

"Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known." -- Michel de Montaigne

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