Average price of a new car or light truck in 2016, according to Kelley Blue Book: $33,865

According to a study by Bankrate.com, of the 50 U.S. cities with the largest populations, number in which a median-income household cannot afford the average-priced new car or light truck: 50

Ranks of San Jose, California; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and San Diego on the list of cities with the highest amount of money available for a new vehicle among median-income households: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Detroit; Rochester, New York; Cleveland; Hartford, Connecticut; and Buffalo, New York, on the list of cities where a median-income household can least afford a new vehicle: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of senior managers who said it's unprofessional to include emojis or emoticons in work communications, according to research from OfficeTeam: 39

Percentage who gave it the OK hand sign, saying it's fine in certain situations: 40

Percentage who gave it a smiley face, calling it fun: 21

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of millennials who report that they now carry their cellphone in their hand throughout the day, according to YouGov research: 51

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of Americans who make all their purchases with cash, according to a Gallup poll, down from 19 percent five years ago: 10

Percentage who never use cash, up from 10 percent: 12

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of workers who say they would struggle to meet emergency expenses of $400, according to the Federal Reserve Board: 46

Percentage who say they are juggling two or more jobs: 22

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Amount of money that U.S. consumers spent on candy in the 52 weeks ending April 30, 2016, according to a survey by Nielsen: $21.5 billion

Amount generated in sales during major holidays like Easter and Halloween: $3.5 billion

Source: Nielsen Insights.

Percentage of employers who will raise wages for current employees in the second half of the year, according to CareerBuilder's Midyear Job Forecast: 50

Percentage who will offer higher starting salaries with job offers: 40

Percentage of employers who plan to hire full-time, permanent workers, on par with 49 percent last year: 50

Percentage of employers who plan to hire part-time employees, on par with 28 percent last year: 28

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of American automobile drivers who have been on the receiving end of a "rude/hostile hand gesture," according to the Expedia 2016 Road Rage Report: 48

Percentage who have been yelled or cursed at: 35

Percentage who have been accosted by a driver who exited his or her vehicle to do so: 13

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of Americans who say they are likely to use sharing economy services such as AirBnB, HomeAway, Uber or Lyft during their summer vacation this year, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance: 36

Percentage of Americans who say they find sharing economy services such as AirBnB, HomeAway, Uber or Lyft to be trustworthy: 48

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of CFOs who said they are confident their millennial employees -- workers born between 1978 and 1999 -- possess management potential, according to a Robert Half survey: 85

Percentage of CFOs who said their organizations most often provide onsite training to help train millennial workers for leadership positions: 60

Percentage who said they provide opportunities to attend conferences, seminars and webinars: 57

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" -- Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author

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

Number of minutes that Americans talked on their mobile phones in 2015, according to survey results released by CTIA: 2.8 trillion

Number of texts, videos and photo messages Americans exchanged (more than 4 million every minute): 2.1 trillion

Source: CTIA.

Percentage of workers who admit to checking in with the office at least once or twice a week while on holiday, according to a survey from Accountemps: 41

Percentage of workers who took fewer or no days off because they worried about their colleagues absorbing their workload: 35

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who say that they feel they have too little motivation on a typical Monday, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Connect on behalf of Spotify: 55

Ranks of coffee and music on the list of the top ranked pick-me-ups: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employers who say two or more hours a day are lost in productivity because employees are distracted, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder: 75

Percentage who say at least three hours a day are lost: 43

Ranks of personal messaging, weather, news, games and shopping on the list of non-work related sites accessed for non-work use: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Percentage of employers who say lost productivity lowers morale because other workers have to pick up the slack: 38 percent

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When asked to gauge the opinions of their fellow Americans, percentage of U.S. adults who estimate that Americans believe divorce is acceptable, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 88

Percentage of adults who believe that having parents who are divorced is better for children than having parents who are together but unhappy: 71

Percentage of children of divorce who share that sentiment: 82

Percentage of children who haven't experienced the divorce of their parents who say the same: 68

Source: The Harris Poll.

Given the state of the labor market, percentage of CEOs, CFOs, controllers and other senior-level people who said they expect it will be harder to fill open positions over the next 12 months, according to a survey by the American Institute of CPAs: 61

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Percentage of CFOs who said strategic-thinking abilities are important for accounting and finance professionals, according to the results of a Robert Half Management Resources survey: 86

Percentage of executives who said their organization does not provide related professional development opportunities: 46

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Expected percentage growth in global wearable device wholesale revenues in 2016, with smartwatches capturing the biggest slice of the wearables revenue pie, according to a Strategy Analytics study: 31

Rank of fitness bands in terms of units-shipped worldwide: 1

Rank of the smartglasses segment on the list of the most anticipated revenue growth through 2022, estimated to become the second largest revenue pool by 2022 behind smartwatches: 1

Source: Strategy Analytics.

Percentage of respondents around the world who say grocery shopping is something they try to spend as little time as possible doing, according to Nielsen's Global Think Smaller for Big Growth Report: 46

Percentage of shoppers who say they actively seek products with healthful ingredients: 67

Ranks of banking, fast food, prepared food and pharmacy on the list of in-store add-on services that are the most widely available and used by global respondents: 1, 2 (tie), 4

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of adults who say they either could not cover an emergency expense costing $400 or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money, according to the report on the economic well-being of U.S. households prepared by the Consumer and Community Development Research Section of the Federal Reserve Board: 46

Percentage who experienced a major unexpected medical expense that they had to pay out of pocket: 22

Percentage of those who say they had a major medical expense that led them to owing debt: 46

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Idle Thought

"Writing is the Latin of our times. The modern language of the people is video and sound." -- Lawrence Lessig, professor and political activist

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

Percentage of professionals who believe office politics are alive and well in the workforce, according to a survey by Accountemps: 80

Percentage who admit to taking part in office politics: 55

Percentage who said gossip is the most common form of office politics: 46

Percentage who said "politicking" is very necessary for career advancement: 28

Percentage who said gaining favor by flattering the boss is the most common form of office politics: 28

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of employees surveyed across the nation who believe that safety takes a back seat to productivity at their organizations, according to a survey by the National Safety Council: 33

Percentage of respondents in the construction industry who agreed: 60

Percentage of those working in agriculture, forestry, and fishing and hunting who felt safety was less of a priority than finishing tasks: 52

Ranks of those industries when it comes to the number of occupational deaths each year: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of Americans whose summer travel plans have been affected by illness or natural disaster, according to U.S. Travel Insurance Association: 17

Percentage of those impacted who have the necessary insurance, according to a CardHub report: 22

Percentage of credit cards that offer travel accident insurance, providing an average of $352,000 in coverage: 93

Source: CardHub.

Rank of Arlington, Virginia, on the list of the best cities to retire, according to a Bankrate.com report: 1

Ranks of Franklin, Tennesee; Des Moines, Iowa; Sarasota, Florida; and Scottsdale, Arizona, on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans for whom eating dinner at home entails cooking from scratch, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 78

Percentage of Americans who enjoy cooking, with over one-quarter enjoying it a great deal: 57

Of those who enjoy cooking the most, percentage who like to cook from scratch: 86

Ranks of "back pocket" recipes (42 percent), a recipe of their own design (32 percent) or a recipe passed down from a family member (25 percent) on the list of places Americans go when looking to cook something up: 1, 2, 3

Source: The Harris Poll.

In 2015, estimated number of reported injuries among people of all ages that were caused by fireworks, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): 29,200

Of these, number that required emergency room visits: 10,181

Total value of medical expenses: $166 million plus

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Year that the Declaration of Independence, a document signed by 56 of America's Founding Fathers, proclaiming independence from English rule, was approved by the Continental Congress, according to U.S. News and DataLine: 1777

Number of people who will venture at least 50 miles from home to celebrate the Fourth, up 0.7 percent from last year, according to AAA: 42 million

Source: U.S. News.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, percentage of farms that are family owned: 97

Number of farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers this represents: 494,879

Median income of these workers: $30,597

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Amount of money Nationwide Insurance members spent on canine medical conditions that are commonly associated with dog park fun last year, according to Nationwide: $10 million

Estimated number of Nationwide-insured dogs that suffered soft tissue injuries or sprains, the most common medical condition on the list: 24,000

Source: Nationwide.

Ranks of family satisfaction, health and nutrition, and sustainability on the list of important factors that Americans consider when deciding what food to buy, according to the Cone Communications Food Issues Trend Tracker: 1, 2, 3

Percentage who consider where a product is produced when making food purchasing decisions: 89

Source: Cone Communications.

Idle Thought

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars." -- Walt Whitman

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