When seeking advice on what to buy, percentage of consumers who trust celebrity endorsements, according to the first ExpertVoice Consumer Trust Panel: 4

Percentage who trust sponsored professional athletes: 7

Percentage who trust social influencers: 6

Percentage of consumers who trust the recommendations from friends and family: 83

Source: ExpertVoice.

Amount of money consumers repaid in credit card debt during the first financial quarter of 2018, the second-biggest quarterly paydown ever, according to a WalletHub report: $40.3 billion

Percentage of people with credit card debt who say they'll pay it off in less than a year: 41

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of professionals who said they are more likely to accept a job offer if there's the possibility of telecommuting at least some of the time, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 77

Ranks of "people abusing the benefit" (22 percent), "feeling isolated and missing a team environment" (22 percent) and "strained interpersonal relationships due to lack of face time" (17 percent) on the list of the top drawbacks of telecommuting: 1 (tie), 3

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of America's employers who have been negatively impacted by tired employees, according to a National Safety Council survey: 90

Percentage who say they've had an employee fall asleep on the job: 50

Percentage of employers who have experienced absenteeism: 57

Percentage who report injuries and near-misses due to fatigued employees: 32

Source: National Safety Council.

Ranks of "Jeopardy!" "Wheel of Fortune," "The Price Is Right," "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Family Feud" on the list of America's top five most popular contemporary TV shows, according to research by YouGov: 1, 2, 3 (tie), 5

Ranks of "I Love Lucy," "Jeopardy!" "The Twilight Zone," "The Golden Girls" and "I Dream of Jeannie" on the list of America's top five most popular TV shows of all time: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Source: YouGov.

In a profession dominated by women, estimated amount more that men in nursing earn per year than their female counterparts, according to a Nurse.com by OnCourse Learning survey: $6,000

Average salary for men in nursing: $79,688

Average salary for women in nursing: $73,090 Percentage of the U.S. nursing workforce that is comprised of men: 12

Source: Nurse.com.

Percentage of parents who said popular tech devices take away reading time for their child, according to a poll by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Read Aloud 15 Minutes: 34

Percentage of parents of children ages 0 to 2 years who said this is the case: 26

Percentage of parents with children ages 3 to 5 who said the same: 37

Percentage of parents with children ages 6 to 8 who said the same: 40

Source: ASHA.

In the United States, percentage of college graduates who are unemployed, according to Datatrek Research: 2

Percentage of Americans over 25 years of age with such a degree who are in the workforce: 73

Percentage of high school graduates with no further schooling who are unemployed: 3.9

Percentage who are in the workforce: 54.9

Source: DataTrek Research.

Percentage of young men in relationships who think marriage proposals should be a surprise, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Helzberg Diamonds by Toluna Group: 73

Percentage of young women who agree: 63

Percentage of men who think modern proposals should reflect the kind of egalitarian relationships people want today: 47

Percentage of women in a relationship who said a traditional engagement was important for them: 37

Source: Helzberg Diamonds.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who are happiest online when shopping, according to a research report by Rokt: 81

Ranks of happy, excited and productive on the list of the most common emotions linked with making a purchase online: 1, 2, 3

Source: Rokt.

Idle Thought

"A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points." -- Alan Kay, computer scientist

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

Rank of financial security on the list of the most important attributes for a positive outlook on life, according to research by Northwestern Mutual: 1

Percentage of Americans who agree that nothing makes them happier or more confident than feeling like their finances are in order: 87

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Ranks of a candidate's interview performance, resume and previous work experience as key areas of focus for advertising and marketing executives looking for a new hire, according to The Creative Group: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of executives who prefer reviewing traditional resumes over other formats, like social or online, infographic and video: 74

Average number of interview rounds that top candidates go through: 3

Source: The Creative Group.

Percentage of Americans not taking all of their vacations who say they do so because their "workload is too heavy": 56

Percentage who believe they "lack coverage at work": 56

Percentage who say "the cost of travel" is an impediment to their taking vacation: 53

Source: DataTrek Research

Percentage of Americans who do not think we get good value for what our country spends on health care, according to a poll from NORC at the University of Chicago and the West Health Institute: 75

Percentage of respondents who said that over the last year they had to choose between paying for medical bills or basic necessities, such as food, heating or housing: 30

Percentage of people who fear the medical bills that come with a serious illness more than fear the illness itself: 40 percent

Source: NORC at the University of Chicago.

Percentage of professionals from varying industries who agreed that the retention of new hires in their organization is an issue, according to a Korn Ferry survey: 93

Percentage of respondents who said that offering more money to a new hire who wanted to leave would not make them stay: 55

Percentage who said challenging and rewarding work is what keeps them on the job: 70

When asked which generation would be most likely to leave a new job if they were not satisfied, percentage of professionals who said millennials: 82

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Number of children who have died in 2018 so far because of being left in a hot car, according to research by the National Safety Council: 9

On an 86-degree day, approximate amount of time it takes for the temperature inside a vehicle to reach 105 degrees: 10 minutes

Average number of young lives claimed each year through children being left in a hot car: 37

Percentage of all pediatric vehicular heatstroke (PVH) deaths since 1998 that have happened when the vehicle was at home: 56

Percentage that have happened while the parent's or caregiver's vehicle was parked at their workplace: 25

Source: National Safety Council.

Ranks of corruption, unemployment, poverty or social inequality, crime and violence, and health care on the list of the top five global concerns, according to research by Ipsos Public Affairs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of health care, crime and violence, terrorism, immigration and corruption on the list of issues that most concern Americans: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Cost of retail thefts, fraud and losses (also known as retail "shrink") in 2017, according to the annual National Retail Security survey by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida: $46.8 billion

Ranks of shoplifting and organized retail crime (36 percent), internal employee theft (33 percent), administrative paperwork errors (19 percent) and vendor fraud or mistake (6 percent) on the list of the most frequent causes of losses: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: NRF.

Of those Americans who are saving some of their income, percentage who say they are saving more than 10 percent, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 27

Percentage who say they are putting away more than 15 percent of their paycheck: 16

Percentage of younger millennials who are saving more than 15 percent of their incomes: 23

Percentage of older boomers who are saving more than 15 percent of their incomes: 27

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of college students who think they'll be worse off financially than their parents, according to WalletHub: 33

Percentage who say excellent credit is worth more than a college degree: 25

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"A prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice." -- Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (1469-1527)

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

Percentage of Americans who won't go on vacation this summer because they can't afford it, according to a Bankrate.com report: 24

Percentage who won't take a vacation because they have too many family obligations: 12

Percentage who say they are too busy at work: 11

Source: Bankrate.com.

Ranks of physical/health (30 percent), career (23 percent) and relationships (13 percent) on the list of areas where Americans most want to make meaningful change, according to a survey conducted by Brant Menswar and Jim Trick, co-authors of the book, "Rock 'N' Roll With It: Overcoming the Challenge of Change": 1, 2, 3

Percentage who said that the most difficult change happened unexpectedly: 60

Percentage who experienced difficulty when they were intentionally trying to make a change: 39

Source: "Rock 'N' Roll With It: Overcoming the Challenge of Change."

Percentage of parents who agree that their child is more interested in toys that encourage curiosity for a longer period of time than toys that don't encourage discovery or exploration, according to a survey commissioned by Baby Einstein: 90

Percentage who note that nothing makes them feel more confident in their parenting skills than watching their child explore something new: 97

Source: Baby Einstein.

Ranks of greeting cards -- many of them with cash inside -- (43 percent), gift cards (32 percent), apparel (14 percent) and electronics (10 percent) on the list of the most popular gifts for graduates, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: NRF.

Percentage of workers who can't unplug while on vacation and regularly check in, according to research from Accountemps: 56

Average number of workdays employees plan to take off this summer -- down from 10 days last year: 9

Percentage of respondents ages 18 to 34 who plan to maintain contact with work this summer, compared to 39 percent of those ages 55-plus: 70

Source: Accountemps.

When consumers in an Equifax survey were asked to grade themselves on their basic level of financial literacy, percentage who gave themselves a "B": 39

Percentage between the ages of 18 and 29 who gave themselves a "B": 29

When asked the source of their finance and credit knowledge, percentage of respondents who selected their parents: 43

Percentage of respondents who said they would willingly participate in a financial literacy education program if it were free and easily available: 52

Source: Equifax.

Rank of the Bulleit old fashioned on the list of the most popular cocktails in bars today, according to a survey of the world's best bartenders by Diageo: 1

Ranks of Negroni, whiskey sour, margarita and Moscow mule: 2, 3, 4, 5,

Source: Diageo.

Percentage of credit card holders who have carried a balance within the past six months, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 66

Of these, percentage who definitely know the interest rates on all of the cards on which they owe money: 39

Percentage who admit they definitely don't know any of their rates: 32

Source: CreditCards.com.

In an online survey of home cooks, ranks of "large product variety," "low prices" and "convenient location" on the list of the top points cited when asked what influences their preferred grocery shopping location, according to Allrecipes: 1, 2, 3

Percentage who said home grocery delivery was "very important" in determining where they shop: 10

Source: Allrecipes.com.

Ranks of Holland, Michigan; St. George, Utah; Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Wilson, North Carolina, on the 2018 list of the best cities to start a small business, according to research by WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." -- Oscar Wilde

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