oddities

Figuratively Speaking for February 05, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | February 5th, 2016

Percentage of managers who think employees often call in sick or make an excuse for skipping work the day after a sporting event like the Super Bowl, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 36

Percentage of workers who know someone who has been a no-show at work for this reason: 41

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of moderate drinkers (one to 14 drinks per week) who have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, compared with 19 percent of nondrinkers and 17 percent of heavy drinkers, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index: 13

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they have zero drinks per week: 54.9

Percentage who report drinking one to 14 drinks per week: 41.4

Percentage who have 15 or more drinks: 3.7

Source: Gallup Organization.

Number of jobs that are accounted for by self-employed Americans and the workers they hired, or 30 percent of the national workforce, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau: 44 million

Percentage of the nation's 146 million workers who are self-employed: 10

Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.

Average number of hours the typical vehicle owner spends per week in the car, according to an Ipsos Audio and Infotainment Brand Study: 11

Estimated percentage of new car buyers who indicate that the audio brand in their next new vehicle will have a significant impact on their purchase consideration: 33

Percentage who believe it increases the resale value of their vehicle: 65

Source: Ipsos.

Population of the United States the year of the first Super Bowl, 1967, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 203 million

Population today: 319 million

Median household income in 1967: $9,590

Median household income today: $53,657

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

When asked how often they come in late to work, percentage of employees who admitted they do it at least once a month, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 25

Percentage who said it's a weekly occurrence for them: 13

Percentage of employers who expect employees to be on time every day: 51

Percentage who have fired someone for being late: 41

Percentage of Europeans in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom who are paying quite a lot of attention to the U.S. presidential election, according to Survey Sampling International's U.S. Presidential QuickPoll: 56

Percentage of respondents who said they were very aware of Hillary Clinton: 90

Percentage of respondents who said they were very aware of Donald Trump: 85

Source: Kannon Public Relations.

Percentage of workers who report that they are currently providing financial support to a relative or friend, according to EBRI retirement confidence survey: 29

Percentage of retirees who report they are doing the same: 20

Percentage of workers who support a child age 18 or older: 37

Percentage of retirees who support a child age 18 or older: 57

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of football fans who say they watch the big game at home, according to a Nielsen survey: 56

Percentage who say they watch it at a friend or family member's house: 15

Percentage who will watch from a bar or restaurant: 5

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who are likely to celebrate Valentine's Day, according to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute: 63

Percentage of men who say they'll spend over $100: 28

Percentage of women who say the same: 11

Percentage of men who report that they're very or somewhat likely to have sex on Valentine's Day: 57

Percentage of women who say the same: 37

Source: Public Religion Research Institute.

Idle Thought

"An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc." -- Henri Matisse, artist

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for January 29, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | January 29th, 2016

Percentage of employees who say they are most stressed by unclear expectations from supervisors, according to a survey from ComPsych Corporation: 31

Percentage of employees who are most worried about confusion and conflict between co-workers and departments: 20

Percentage of employees who are stressed because they believe their workload will increase or become more difficult: 18

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Ranks of Florida, California, Hawaii, Colorado and New York on the list of Americans' most desired states to live in (aside from where they live now), according to the results of a Harris Poll: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of California, New York, Alaska, Mississippi and Texas on the list of states where Americans would least want to live: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Year that the Missouri Legislature voted to tax bachelors between the ages of 21 and 50 $1 a year -- just for being unmarried -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1820

Today, percentage of males over age 15 who have never been married, compared with more than 28 percent of females: 35

Estimated number of people this accounts for, nearly a quarter of the total U.S. population of 322 million: 80 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of U.S. smartphone users who watch at least one short streaming video clip every day, according to a Parks Associates' survey: 70

Percentage of smartphone owners who use social networking apps at least once a day: 80

Source: Parks Associates.

In 2014, percentage of Chinese women who were in the workforce, compared with 55 percent in South Korea and 27 percent in India, according to a study of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data conducted by Ipsos Global@dvisor on behalf of Thompson Reuters Foundation: 70

Percentage of China's entrepreneurs who are women, according to the Asia Foundation: 25

Percentage of the world's female billionaires who made their own fortunes who are Chinese: 50

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employees who say they are least productive between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to a survey by Accountemps and Robert Half International: 29

Percentage who say between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.: 24

Percentage who say between noon and 2 p.m.: 15

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of people who say they hope to make new friends in 2016, according to a survey by SKOUT: 82

Percentage of men who say they are open to their friends setting them up on blind dates: 73

Percentage of women who say they are open to their friends setting them up on blind dates: 60

Source: Skout.

Rank of "Jackson" and "Sophia" on the respective lists of boy and girl baby names in 2015, according to a BabyCenter survey: 1

Number of consecutive years that Jackson has been the top boy name: 3

Number of consecutive years that Sophia has been the top girl name: 6

Source: BabyCenter.

Ranks of Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan on the list of women living anywhere in the world that Americans admire most, according to a Gallup Poll: 1, 2

Ranks of Barack Obama, Pope Francis and Donald Trump on the list of men living anywhere in the world that Americans admire most: 1, 2(tie)

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 35 who say they are prepared to move to large cities and college towns by the year 2020, according to a Nielsen survey: 75

Percentage that home prices in large metropolitan areas could increase above 2012 prices as a result: 33

Ranks of Memphis, Tennessee; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida; and Jacksonville, Florida, on the list of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan areas: 1, 2, 3

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Idle Thought

"The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all." -- Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor and composer

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for January 15, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | January 15th, 2016

When asked how they like to spend an evening, percentage of U.S. adults who cited "staying home," according to a poll by Gallup: 34

Percentage who said TV was their favorite thing to do at night, down from 48 percent in 1966: 16

Percentage who said they like to relax: 13

Percentage who chose reading: 12

Percentage who said visiting with friends: 6

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of adult Americans who admit to using the Internet for personal reasons while at work, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 50

Percentage who say they check personal email at work: 34

Percentage who check news: 27

Percentage who check Facebook: 26

Source: FindLaw.com.

Percentage of people who say that autumn is their most productive season, while winter and summer are the most unproductive, according to data released by Crucial.com: 90

Source: Crucial.com.

Average number of credit cards held by U.S. consumers, according to a study by Experian Consumer Direct: 4

Percentage of U.S. consumers who have 10 or more credit cards: 14

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Number of new drones or unmanned aerial vehicles said to be flying in U.S. airspace at the end of 2015, according to research from Ball State University: 1 million

Number of safety cases reported per month involving drones: 40

Source: Ball State University.

Rank of Michael Jordan on the list of the greatest sports stars of all time, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 1

Ranks of Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams and Peyton Manning on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Joe Montana, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Source: The Harris Poll.

Number of able-bodied young Americans aged 18 to 29 who gave up looking for work in December, according to the Millennial Job Report: 1.8 million

Percentage of 18- to 29-year-olds who are unemployed: 13

General unemployment rate in the United States for December: 5

Source: Generation Opportunity.

Percentage of workers who say getting a raise and developing skills are their top career resolutions for 2016, according to a survey by Accountemps: 27

Percentage of workers who say getting promoted is their top resolution: 15

Percentage who say making a career change is their top resolution: 11

Percentage who want to get a new job in their field: 10

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of employees who are pledging to leave their current employers in 2016, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 21

Percentage of younger employees, ages 18 to 34, who expect to have a new job by the end of 2016: 30

Percentage of employees who are regularly searching for job opportunities even though they are currently employed: 34

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of adults aged 22 to 35 who are saving money who say their top priority is an emergency fund (followed by saving for a home and for children's education), according to an Ipsos/Navient survey: 94

Percentage of those who paid off their student loans who say they are worried about debt, compared to just half of those who never borrowed: 70

Source: Ipsos Insight.

Idle Thought

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead, anthropologist

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

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