Percentage of people who report concern about affording holiday and birthday gifts for their families, according to a study conducted by ClearVoice Research and commissioned by OfferUp: 24

Percentage who want their kids to be popular and believe having brand names is a part of that: 15

Percentage who think buying brand-new items for their kids is important because they don't want to be perceived as poor: 12

Source: Clear Voice Research.

Number of Americans who are self-employed, about 10 percent of the active workforce, according to Pew Research Center: 14.6 million

Number of people who worked for those self-employed people, accounting for 44 million jobs, or 30 percent of the national workforce: 29.4 million

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

Ranks of resume customized to their open position, skill sets listed first on the resume, a cover letter included with the resume and an application addressed to the specific hiring manager on the list of things that HR managers say make them more likely to pay attention to an application, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of people who still like to do the bulk of their holiday shopping in stores, according to creditcards.com: 58

Percentage who favor computers: 21

Percentage who prefer mobile devices: 11

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of Americans -- representing more than 7 million drivers -- who reported falling asleep behind the wheel within the past two weeks, according to The National Sleep Foundation's recent fielding of the Sleep Health Index: 3

Percentage of respondents who reported having avoided driving in the past two weeks because of feeling tired: 8

Number of annual deaths attributed to drowsy driving: 6,400

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Year that the Rensselaer School in Troy, New York, now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was founded as the nation's first engineering school, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1824

Year that its first 10 students graduated with an engineering degree: 1826.

Today, estimated number of engineering service firms in the nation, employing over 1 million people: 59,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of broad daylight on the list of times when most burglaries occur, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 1

Ranks of the front door, the back door and a first-floor window on the list of the most common points of entry: 1, 2, 3

Average loss for homeowners, including cash, valuables and damage to property: $2,230

Estimated number of burglaries that occur every day, approximately one burglary every 15 seconds: 5,800

Percentage of all property crimes committed in the United States that are accounted for by burglary: 23.4

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Age that Americans say kids are ready to be home alone, according to a Harris Poll: 13.5

Age that Americans feel kids are ready for their first one-on-one date: 16

Age that Americans say kids are ready for their first kiss: 15

Age that Americans say kids need the "sex talk," a year earlier than they were given the chat themselves: 12.3

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of attorneys who said legal disputes between unmarried couples who had previously lived together are on the rise during the past three years, according to a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: 45

Percentage of the attorneys who also noted a decrease in cohabitation agreements being drawn up between same-sex partners since same-sex marriage has been legalized: 70

Source: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Percentage of managers who say they are satisfied with their job, up from 55 percent in 2012, according to a survey by the Global Wellness Institute: 67

Percentage who believe in their organization's values: 76

Percentage who feel fairly treated by their employer: 61

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Idle Thought

"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." -- Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

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

Rank of "having pride in one's organization" on the list of drivers of happiness for workers (those who feel proud of their organization are three times more likely to be happy than those who are not), according to the findings of a study of U.S. workers by Robert Half in collaboration with world-renowned happiness and well-being expert Nic Marks: 1

Ranks of "feeling appreciated" and "being treated with fairness and respect" on the list: 2, 3

Ranks of "a sense of accomplishment," "interesting and meaningful work" and "positive workplace relationships" on the list: 4, 5, 6

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of parents who believe kids should get an allowance for doing chores, according to a survey from Country Financial: 68

Percentage of parents who say they learned about money on their own: 50

Source: Country Financial.

Ranks of eyesight getting poorer, not being as mentally alert/memory loss, lack of energy, having trouble taking care of themselves physically, and losing mobility/unable to walk or drive on the list of the top five physical conditions that people worry most about having, either now or as they age, according to a GfK survey conducted across 17 countries: 1 (tie), 3, 4, 5

Source: GfK Media.

Number of Americans age 65 and older in 1967, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 19.1 million

Number age 65 and older in 2016: 46.2 million

U.S. life expectancy at birth in 1967: 70.5 years

Life expectancy at birth in 2016: 78.8 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of girls who wear makeup who rarely/never leave the house without it, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Renfrew Center: 27

Ranks of home, pool or beach, and gym on the list of places that makeup-wearing girls felt were acceptable to be seen without makeup: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of a friend's house and school on the list of places that were deemed least acceptable: 1, 2

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of workers who feel their job or industry is too specialized to easily convey to others, according to a survey from Spherion Staffing: 31

Percentage of workers who feel their professional and personal networks would find their job boring if they accurately described it: 27

Percentage who feel that pop culture significantly shapes others' perceptions of their job, as friends and family may equate them with someone they've seen in a mainstream medium: 31

Source: Spherion.

Percentage interest charged by the average store card, much higher than the national average for all credit cards (15.22 percent), according to a CreditCards.com report: 23.84

Ranks of Big Lots (29.99 percent), Zales (29.24 percent) and Staples (28.24 percent) on the list of store-branded credit cards that are charging the highest interest rates: 1, 2, 3

Source: Creditcards.com.

Within the American workforce, median hourly earnings earned by Asian men, the highest amount, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly wages that includes full- and part-time workers: $24

In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate among adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, versus 5 percent among adults with only a high school diploma: 2.5%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of family caregivers who are either working full time or part time who have missed work in the past 12 months, according to a Caring.com report: 79

Percentage who have missed at least seven days: 31

Source: Caring.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have spilled a drink in the past year, according to a survey from Contigo: 66

Percentage of Americans who would give up social media to be spill-free for a month: 20

Percentage of Americans that frequently spill who blame it on multitasking: 33

Source: Contigo.

Idle Thought

"It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." -- George H. Lorimer, editor

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

Percentage of American adults who have worked in a convenience store, gas station or corner store, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 16.6

Of that total, percentage who say that they learned a lot about how to work with people: 91

Percentage who say that the experience they gained was valuable: 86

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of Americans who confirm that appearance (i.e., not blemished or misshapen in any way) is at least somewhat important to them when shopping for fresh produce, with 43 percent saying it is very or extremely important, according to a Harris Poll: 81

Whether "ugly produce" or not, percentage rise in produce sales from August 2015 to July 2016: 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Number of subscribers that Netflix expects to add in the third quarter, according to a survey by ReportLinker: 2.3 million

Percentage of these subscribers who still pay for cable or satellite TV: 63

Rank of Netflix as the most popular video-on-demand service, with 64 percent of all U.S. VOD subscribers: 1

Source: ReportLinker.

Percentage of Americans who are limiting their monthly spending to save more money, according to a new study by Bankrate.com: 65

Ranks of the need to save more money, stagnant income, worries about the economy and having too much debt on the list of the top reasons for regulating their funds: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Bankrate.com.

Among wealthy Americans (those with at least $3 million in assets), percentage who plan to make a real estate purchase within the next three years, according to a report from Luxury Portfolio International and YouGov: 25

Percentage who say that privacy is essential: 61

Percentage who say a master bedroom with a luxury en suite bathroom is a priority: 60

Percentage who say dual walk-in closets: 54

Source: YouGov.

In the last two years, percentage growth in the wellness industry -- from a $3.36 trillion market in 2013 to $3.72 trillion in 2015, according to the 2016 Global Wellness Economy Monitor: 10.6

Over that same period, percentage that the global economy/GDP has shrunk: 3.6

Ranks of preventative/personalized medicine and public health, fitness and mind-body, wellness lifestyle real estate, wellness tourism, and healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss on the list of the fastest growing wellness markets from 2013 to 2015: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage of email marketers who say brand building and engagement is their primary goal for email marketing, according to a survey conducted by Clutch: 47

Percentage of email marketers who named subscriber list growth the most important email metric to track: 75

Source: Clutch.

While parents recognize the undeniable role of technology in their kids' lives, percentage who say they need a road map to help navigate tech usage on a day-to-day basis, according to a survey from Sprout: 92

Percentage of parents who feel judged by other parents over their kids' screen time: 59

Percentage who say they've argued with their kids about screen time: 62

Source: Sprout.

Amount of cheese the nations of the European Union combine to produce annually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 9.6 metric tons

Amount produced in the United States, matching that of the combined second to fourth place producers -- Germany, France and Italy: 5.4 metric tons

America's annual cheese consumption average per capita: 36 pounds

Percentage of this figure that is accounted for by mozzarella: 32

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American workers who rate the nation's health care system as poor or fair, according to the 2016 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey conducted by EBRI and Greenwald and Associates: 60

Percentage who rate it as good or excellent: 15

Percentage of respondents who are extremely or very satisfied with the cost of their own health insurance plan: 17

Source: EBRI.

Idle Thought

"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments or publicity." -- Thomas Wolfe, novelist

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