oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 06, 2018

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 6th, 2018

Percentage of working Americans who are failing to save any of their income, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 20

Percentage who cite expenses as their biggest savings obstacle: 39

Percentage who said their job doesn't pay enough to allow them to save: 16

Percentage who said they "haven't gotten around to it": 16

Percentage who cited debt: 13

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of parents who believe that the more curious children are the more likely they are to be successful as adults, according to a survey for Baby Einstein: 94

Ranks of being creative, learning new things faster and more easily, and thinking critically on the list of the top areas that curious kids excel in over their less curious peers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Baby Einstein.

Percentage of workers who admitted they come in late for work at least once a month -- down from 29 percent last year -- according to a CareerBuilder survey: 25

Percentage who said it was a weekly occurrence: 12

Ranks of traffic, oversleeping, bad weather and too tired to get out of bed on the list of the usual excuses why employees are late to work: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of employers who have fired someone for being late: 43

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When comparing pay between genders overall in the U.S., percentage more that men are paid than women -- in line with other research on the subject, according to the Korn Ferry Gender Pay Index research: 17.6

When comparing the salaries of men and women at the same job level, percentage difference in pay: 7

When comparing the same level within the same company, percentage difference in pay: 2.6

When comparing same level, same company, same function -- percentage difference in pay: 0.9

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

When asked to pick a late-night celebrity to work on their car, percentage of vehicle owners who selected Jimmy Kimmel, according to a survey by the non-profit Car Care Council: 28

Ranks of Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah on the list of: 2, 3, 4

Source: Car Care Council.

Percentage of workers who have admitted to crying at work, according to a survey from staffing firm Accountemps: 45

Percentage of workers who say crying has no negative effect -- it shows you are human: 31

Percentage who said crying is never acceptable at work -- people will perceive you as weak or immature: 32

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who plan to do some spring cleaning, spending an average of four days on the process, according to a poll by Sparefoot: 78

Percentage who will shop for new spring clothing, according to a poll by the International Council of Shopping Centers: 57

Source: Goodwill.

Percentage of Americans who report unplugging from work completely while taking time off, according to the Alamo family vacation survey: 37

Percentage who say they put pressure on themselves to work during family vacations: 59

Percentage who say they do so to avoid coming back to a mountain of work: 57

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

Percentage of Americans who assert that they definitely need to have a vehicle to get to work, according to findings from an Ipsos poll: 78

Percentage of Americans who agree with the sentiment that their car reflects who they are and that it is a reflection of their personality or self: 81

Percentage who consider themselves as someone who is passionate about cars, trucks, motorcycles or other vehicles: 59

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of millennials who are considering rewarding themselves after completing their tax return, 4 percentage points higher than the general population, according to a survey by eBay: 71

Ranks of new electronics, a new wardrobe and a night out at a restaurant or bar on the list of things Americans plan to reward themselves with: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend their entire refund on a tech purchase: 20

Percentage of millennials who are planning to spend their entire refund on a new car: 37

Source: eBay.

Idle Thought

"It's best to give while your hand is still warm." -- Philip Roth, novelist

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for March 30, 2018

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | March 30th, 2018

Projected Easter spending this year, almost on par with a record $18.4 billion in 2017, but still the second-highest level on record, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 18.2 billion

Average spent per person: $152

Amount consumers will spend on food (purchased by 87 percent of shoppers): $5.7 billion

Amount spent on candy: $2.6 billion

Amount on flowers: $1.3 billion

Source: NRF.

Amount that Wall Street banks handed out in bonuses to their New York City-based employees for 2017 performance, up 17 percent over 2016, according to figures from the New York State Comptroller: $31.4 billion

Number of times larger the total bonus pool for 176,900 Wall Street employees was than the combined annual earnings of all 884,000 U.S. full-time minimum-wage workers, according to the Institute for Policy Studies: 2.5

Source: Institute for Policy Studies.

Amount that U.S. consumers racked up in new credit card debt during 2017, pushing existing outstanding balances past $1 trillion for the first time ever, according to WalletHub's Credit Card Debt study, based on Federal Reserve data: $92.2 billion

Despite Federal Reserve data, percentage of Americans who think they'll have less debt at the end of the year: 92

Percentage who think travel is worth getting into debt for: 35

Percentage who don't remember why they got into it: 13

Source: WalletHub.

Estimated percentage of Americans who report skipping a recommended medical test or treatment because of cost, according to a poll from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the West Health Institute: 40

Percentage who say they didn't go to a doctor when they were sick or injured in the last year because of cost: 44

Source: NORC at the University of Chicago.

Percentage of senior managers who said it's common for an applicant with a promising resume to not live up to expectations when interviewed, according to a survey by Robert Half: 64

On average, number of resumes managers review per job opening: 40

Number or minutes they spend looking at each one: 12

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of singles who have gone out on an official first date, according to a survey by Match.com: 44

Percentage of singles who say being asked out two to three days in advance is appropriate first date behavior: 54

Percentage who approve of being asked out the day of: 27

Source: Match.com.

Percentage of Americans who are most likely to describe their idea of the "perfect" body as being athletic, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of RiverMend Health: 79

Percentage of Americans who would be willing to give up something they love if it meant they could achieve their perfect body overnight: 75

Percentage who would say goodbye to deep-fried foods: 45

Percentage who would give up candy/sweets: 43

Percentage who would forgo alcohol: 41

Percentage who would give up sex: 10

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of bosses and supervisors surveyed who support their employees when they take time out to enjoy themselves while traveling for business, according to a survey by National Car Rental: 92

Percentage of business travelers who report successfully managing their personal lives while on business travel: 86

Percentage who consider themselves "business travel pros": 83

Percentage who say they know how to make the most out of life while traveling for business: 84

Source: National Car Rental.

Percentage of Americans who said regret was the leading feeling after an impulsive shopping session, according to a survey by finder.com:: 44

Percentage who felt indifference: 32

Percentage who felt as though they didn't have enough funds for something they actually needed (such as rent, school fees, loan repayments): 19

Percentage who said it caused fighting with a spouse or family members: 10

Source: finder.com.

Percentage of Americans who had already filed income tax returns as early as Feb. 26, and even high among millennials (59 percent), according to eBay's Tax Refund Retail Study: 57

Percentage of respondents who expressed excitement about filing taxes because they are getting money back: 48

Percentage who plan to spend at least part of their tax refund this year, while 23 percent plan to save it: 78

Source: eBay.

Idle Thought

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." -- James Madison, fourth U.S. president

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for March 23, 2018

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | March 23rd, 2018

Percentage of workers who dated at work who ended up getting married, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 31

Percentage of workers who had an affair with a colleague where one person involved was married at the time: 24

Percentage of workers who have left a job because a romantic relationship with someone at work went sour: 6

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of full-time employees in the U.S. who do not receive benefits, such as health insurance, a retirement savings plan or paid vacation, from their employers, according to a survey by Clutch: 25

Ranks of health insurance, paid vacation time, overtime pay and retirement funding on the list of the most valuable benefits to employees: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of older baby boomers (ages 65 to 75) who are not looking to leave all of their money behind and just want to live comfortably in retirement, according a PNC survey: 86

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Of the companies surveyed this year, percentage that were pure-play online retailers, according to a study by the National Retail Federation and Forrester: 32

Percentage that were multichannel retailers, including traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers that also sell online: 57

Percentage of store-based retailers who expect a net increase in the number of bricks-and-mortar stores they operate by the end of 2018 compared with 2017: 43

Percentage who expect a net reduction: 16

Percentage of retailers who are proactively working on their real estate assets by opening some type of pop-up store: 24

Source: NRF.

Percentage of millennial bosses who said online messaging is their most common way to communicate with their direct reports, according to a new Korn Ferry survey: 55

Percentage who communicate by email: 28

Percentage who said their favored way to communicate is in person: 14

Percentage who do it by phone: 3

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Number of U.S. adults who have had a negative experience lending a personal credit card to someone they know, according to a new CreditCards.com study: 36 million

Ranks of overspending, not getting paid back and not getting the card back (stating their card either wasn't returned or was lost or stolen): 1, 2, 3

Percentage of current or former credit card holders who admit to letting someone else use their personal card: 49

Source: CreditCards.com.

Ranks of "being present for my kids" and "being a good listener and giving good advice" on the list of qualities that make a good parent, according to research by Farm Rich: 1, 2

Source: Farm Rich.

Percentage of workers surveyed by OfficeTeam who said their companies have a scent-free policy: 19

When asked how they dealt with smells in the office, percentage of workers who let it go and suffered in silence: 46

Percentage who confronted the person: 17

Percentage who asked their manager or HR to intervene: 15

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of investors who moved money out of stock-related accounts during the January-February market correction as a direct response to the decline, according to a new Bankrate.com report: 6

Percentage who contributed more to stock investments: 15

Source: Bankrate.com.

An American's odds of being intentionally assaulted with a firearm, according to the National Safety Council's compilation of unintentional death and injury data for 98 years: 1 in 285

Odds of being accidentally shot: 1 in 8,305

Source: National Safety Council.

Idle Thought

"The first symptom of love in a young man is timidity; in a girl, boldness." -- Victor Hugo

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

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