Percentage of salaried employees who used all of their allotted vacation time for 2016, according to an Ipsos poll: 53

Percentage of hourly employees who used theirs by the end of 2016: 36

Percentage of both salaried and hourly employees who plan to roll over what's left of their allotted vacation time: 25

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Serena Williams and LeBron James on the list of the top five most marketable athletes in the United States in 2016 based on Nielsen's N-Score, awareness and likability, according to Nielsen research: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Estimated amount of money U.S. retailers lost to fraud in 2014 -- a 39 percent increase over the $23 billion in fraud losses the prior year, according to Business Insider: $32 billion

Percentage of losses that international merchants with e-commerce channels attributed to friendly fraud: 30

Percentage attributed to lost or stolen merchandise: 30

Percentage to identity theft: 22

Percentage to fraudulent requests for return/refund: 17

Source: Business Insider.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who believe pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies put patients over profits, according to a Harris Poll study: 9

Percentage who believe health insurance companies do: 16

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe health care providers (such as doctors and nurses) put patients over profits: 36

Percentage who believe hospitals put patients over profits: 23

Source: The Harris Poll.

Amount of money contributed to or collected for charity by convenience stores over the past year, according to a national survey of retailers by the National Association of Convenience Stores: $990 million

Percentage of convenience store companies responding to the survey that say they donate to charities: 97

Percentage of all convenience retailers who say they support five or more charities in their communities: 64

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of parents who have given their kids a reward for completing their chores, according to a survey by Toluna: 48

Percentage who have given their kids a reward for completing their homework: 40

Percentage of parents who have given their kids electronics to keep them quiet: 37

Percentage who have bribed their kids to get them to do something: 36

Source: Toluna QuickSurveys.

Projected annual percentage fall in the U.S. demand for tobacco products to 2020, according to research released by Freedonia Focus Reports: 1.3

Percentage share of U.S. adults who smoked cigarettes in 2015 (down from 21 percent in 2005): 15

Source: Freedonia Group (The).

Average American per capita income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $28,500

Average household median income: $53,500

Average family household median income: $68,000

Estimated number of personal financial advisers in the U.S.: 198,000

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who think they'll die in debt, according to a survey of U.S. adults from CreditCards.com: 12

Percentage who said that in 2015: 21

Percentage of people age 65 and up who say they'll never get out of debt: 28

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households that have Wi-Fi access, according to research from Parks Associates: 71

Percentage more computing devices these Wi-Fi households have than non-Wi-Fi households: 30

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." -- Maya Angelou

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

Percentage of CFOs who said lacking attention to detail or sloppy work is the co-worker behavior that annoys them most, according to an Accountemps survey: 35

Percentage who cited gossiping or engaging in office politics: 28

Ranks of missing deadlines, being perpetually late and presenting other's ideas as one's own on the list: 3, 4, 5

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who consume more fresh products than they did three years ago, according to a survey for Bizerba/Invatron: 48

Ranks of supermarkets (63 percent), natural and organic grocery stores (14 percent), wholesale clubs (9 percent) and discount stores (8 percent) on the list of preferred shopping venues: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of Americans who use Amazon and other online retailers for their groceries: 5

Source: Bizerba/Invatron.

Year that the very first immigrant, a 15-year-old Irish girl named Annie Moore, was processed at the new facility on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1892

Over the course of more than 60 years, estimated number of people who flowed through the center: 12 million

In 1910, percentage of America's population that was foreign-born: 15

Today, percentage of America's population that is foreign-born: 12.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of the current workforce that is made up of millennials, according to Pew research: 38

In 10 years, projected percentage of America's labor pool that will be made up of millennials: 75

Percentage of millennials who are engaged in their jobs: 29

Percentage higher productivity that is enjoyed by companies with business units in the top quartile of employee engagement: 17

Source: Engaging Millennials.

Percentage of people who want to get back into shape in 2017, but don't know what to do or where to start, according to research commissioned by Jabra: 50

Percentage who admitted to having never used a personal or group trainer: 71

Percentage who aren't prepared to do a basic search online for quick tips and video workouts: 96

Source: Jabra.

In 2016, Florida's net relocation gain (the difference between inbound moves and outbound moves with Allied) to rank as the highest in the nation, according to the annual Allied Van Lines Magnet States Report: 1,316

Ranks of Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Utah on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of California as the most mobile state with the highest number of departures and arrivals (10,590): 1

Source: Allied Van Lines.

Number of adults in the U.S. who read a newspaper in a given month -- whether it be in print, on a website or via mobile app, according to a Nielsen Scarborough study: 169 million

In total, percentage of the U.S. population who read a newspaper in a given month: 69

Percentage of monthly newspaper readers who engage with the print product: 81

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who see Cuba in a positive light, representing a majority for the first time in Gallup polling history: 54

Percentage who viewed Cuba favorably in 2014: 38

Percentage who expressed the same in 2006: 21

Source: Gallup Organization.

Between 1999 and 2014, percentage of all deaths in the United States deaths that involved firearms (487,858), according to ProCon.org: 1.2

Rank of firearm deaths on the leading causes of death in the U.S.: 12

Rank of death by firearm and death by suffocation on the list of the leading methods of suicide: 1, 2

Source: ProCon.org.

Percentage of employers who are planning to hire full-time, permanent employees over the next 12 months, according to CareerBuilder's annual job forecast: 40

Percentage who expect to hire part-time, permanent staff: 30

Percentage of all employers who anticipate adding temporary or contract workers: 50

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." -- Bob Dylan

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

Percentage of Americans who believe getting sick during cold and flu season is inevitable, according to a survey, conducted by Harris Poll, on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association: 42

Ranks of the workplace, public transportation and the home (from family or roommates) on the list of the most likely places to catch a cold or the flu: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Osteopathic Association.

Ranks of save more and spend less, pay down debt, increase my income, and create a budget and stick to it on the list of Americans' top financial resolutions for the upcoming year, according to a survey by GOBankingRates.com: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of Americans who have less than $1,000 in savings, according to a 2016 GoBankingRates.com survey: 70

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

A century ago, average life expectancy for a baby girl, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 54.3 years

Average life expectancy for a baby boy: 49.6 years

Today, average life expectancy for a baby girl: 81

Average life expectancy for a baby boy: 76.4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of "Stranger Things" (Netflix), "Mr. Robot" (USA network), "Game of Thrones" (HBO) and "Orange Is the New Black" (Netflix) on the list of the top 25 recommended shows for winter binge-watching, according to E-Poll Market Research: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: E-Poll Market Research.

Percentage of attorneys who cited an increase in the number of millennials requesting prenuptial agreements, according to a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML): 51

Source: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Percentage of Americans who report cooking at home four nights or more per week in 2016, according to a national survey by Peapod and ORC: 72

Percentage who are planning to cook dinner at home even more in the new year: 34

Percentage of millennials who are making this a resolution for 2017: 49

Percentage of baby boomers who are making this a resolution: 24

Source: Peapod.

Percentage of workers who are planning to change jobs in 2017, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 22

Percentage of workers ages 18 to 34 who expect to change jobs in 2017: 35

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of their content-watching time each day that the average child in the United States and Britain spends viewing content from a streaming source, according to an Ipsos survey: 72

Percentage of kids who continue to use some sort of television to watch content: 75

Percentage who are using tablets to watch their favorite shows: 61

Percentage who are using smartphones: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of CFOs who said their organization updates all employees with regular information on financial performance, up from 7 percent in 2012, according to a Robert Half survey: 25

Percentage who said they share financial information with select employees, up from 17 percent in 2012: 31

Percentage who don't share financial information with employees, down from 76 percent in 2012: 43

Percentage of employees who said they were either very interested or somewhat interested in hearing about their company's financial performance: 69

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Estimated number of children 5 and younger who are injured in shopping carts across the nation each year, according to a report by the U.S. Product Safety Commission: 24,000

Number of children who go to the emergency room every day because of injuries related to shopping carts: 66

Source: Lucky Baby World.

Idle Thought

"Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly." -- Rose Franken, author and playwright

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