Percentage of HR managers who have seen someone at their company moved down a rung on the career ladder, according to research from OfficeTeam: 46

Ranks of "poor performance" (39 percent) and "not succeeding in a new job after being promoted" (38 percent) on the list of the most common reasons for the demotion: 1, 2

Percentage of demoted employees who quit: 52

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of professionals who admit they will only give positive references and not share unfavorable thoughts, according to a new survey of professionals by Korn Ferry: 25

Percentage who indicate that offering only glowing feedback about a person during a reference call could hurt their own career if the person did not perform well once hired: 86

Percentage of respondents who believe it's more appropriate to give a bad reference for a job candidate than it was five years ago: 54

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Percentage of executive-level respondents to a Deloitte poll who say their organizations have experienced a cybersecurity incident over the past year, with more than 1,500 surveyed professionals feeling only "somewhat confident" in their organization's ability to respond to and remediate a cyber incident: 46

Projected annual cost of cybercrime: $6 trillion

Source: Deloitte Public Relations.

Percentage of rewards-card holders who are paying their bills in full every month, according to CreditCards.com: 41

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Americans who are limiting their spending, according to a study by Bankrate: 66

Ranks of the need to save more money (36 percent), stagnant income (24 percent) and too much debt (17 percent) on the list of reasons Americans are limiting their spending: 1, 2, 3

Source: Bankrate.com.

Combined percentage of online grocery sales accounted for by Amazon and Walmart, currently the key participants in the market, according to research by Packaged Facts: 28

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of men and women globally who say most advertising does not reflect the world around them, according to a survey by Ipsos conducted in partnership with the Female Quotient for the Unstereotype Alliance: 72

Percentage who don't see themselves represented in most advertising: 63

Percentage of consumers who still see sexist ads that offend them: 45

Source: Ipsos Connect.

In 2017, number of patients who were treated for Halloween-related injuries in emergency medical departments, doctors' offices and clinics, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission): 16,706

Number of patients treated for pumpkin-carving injuries alone: 3,158

Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Percentage of U.S. adults who said they shop at various types of discount retailers, according to the latest issue of the quarterly Consumer View report released by the National Retail Federation: 89

Ranks of clothing, groceries, and home decor and furnishings on the list of products shoppers are most likely to purchase at bargain retailers: 1, 2, 3

Source: NRF.

Percentage of Americans who would rather use a set amount of money to upgrade their home to meet their needs than use it as a down payment on a new home, according to a Zillow housing report: 76

Percentage who say they love their homes: 83

Percentage of homeowners who don't have any plans to sell their homes: 63

Source: Zillow.

Idle Thought

"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them." -- T.S. Eliot, poet

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

Rank of "a unique, one-of-a-kind costume" on the list of the most popular costume styles among respondents who plan to dress up this Halloween, according to the Goodwill National Halloween Poll: 25

Ranks of funny (19 percent), scary or gory (17 percent), cute (15 percent) and sexy (14 percent) on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Goodwill Industries International.

Percentage of younger millennials (ages 18 to 27) who are stressed about money matters, according to a Bankrate.com report: 36

Ranks of relationship issues with family, romantic partners and/or friends on their list of stresses: 2, 3, 4

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of IT managers who said adequate technical skills are the most difficult thing to evaluate during a job interview, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 39

Ranks of corporate culture and soft skills on the list of the most difficult things to evaluate during a job interview: 2, 3

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of blue-collar workers who somewhat or strongly agree that "unions help the working man and woman," according to a study conducted by the Harris Poll and commissioned by Express Employment Professionals: 73

Percentage who are members of a labor union: 13

Percentage of blue-collar workers who are optimistic about the future, with more than one-third (34 percent) saying they are "very optimistic": 80

Percentage who also agree that "the harder you work, the more successful you will be": 80

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of men and women who agree that washing their hands after using the toilet is important, according to an Ipsos poll: 98

Percentage of women who say that changing their undergarments every day is crucial behavior: 88

Percentage of men who say the same: 78

Number of times per week the average American will shower: 6.4

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Projected total spending for Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation: $9 billion

Number of Americans planning to partake in Halloween festivities this year: 175 million

According to the survey, amount consumers plan to spend on costumes (purchased by 68 percent of Halloween shoppers): $3.2 billion

Percentage of pet lovers who will dress their animal in a pumpkin costume: 11

Percentage who will dress their cat or dog as a hot dog: 7

Source: NRF.

Percentage of adults who are planning a trip away from home this winter, according to a WalletHub survey: 64

Of those people who don't plan to travel this winter, percentage who say they don't feel like it: 24

Percentage who say they can't afford to travel or need to save money instead: 60

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of HR professionals who say gig workers do a higher caliber of work on their projects than less specialized full-time employees, according to a Korn/Ferry survey: 48

Percentage who say hiring gig professionals actually saves them money: 46

Percentage who say these contingent employees are easier to manage than full-time employees: 42

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Percentage of retailers who feel optimistic that they will outperform their 2017 holiday season sales this year, according to the 2018 Holiday Insights Guide by RetailMeNot: 60

Percentage who are feeling more pressure to compete with Amazon during the holiday season than at other times of the year: 86

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of first responders who feel that there would be repercussions on the job for seeking professional counseling, according to a University of Phoenix survey: 47

Among those who feel this way, percentage who believed they would receive different treatment from co-workers: 53

Source: University of Phoenix.

Idle Thought:

"To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life." -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer

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

Percentage of employees who are tired at work, increasing the risk of injuries and incidents on the job, according to a National Safety Council report: 69

Percentage of employers in the transportation industry who feel the impact of fatigue -- the highest among all safety-critical industries NSC reported on: 97

Percentage of employers in the utilities field who said it is unsafe to drive while tired, although just 66 percent of employees in that industry agreed: 95

Source: National Safety Council.

Number of self-published book titles in 2017 in the U.S., the first time cracking the million mark, according to a report from Bowker: 1,009,188

Source: Bowker.

Percentage of affluent older Americans who would rather die than live in a nursing home, according to a Nationwide Retirement Institute survey: 56

Percentage who fear becoming a burden: 47

Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of university students in the U.S. who say they don't have enough money for food, according to the report Still Hungry and Homeless in College, conducted by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab: 36

Percentage who said they have skipped meals or cut the size of their portions, with 18 percent being forced to do so on at least three occasions in the last 30 days: 25

Percentage of community college students who say they have skipped meals or eaten smaller portions to cut costs: 42

Source: Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.

Percentage of Americans who see little upside for women's workplace opportunities as a result of the increased focus on sexual harassment and assault, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 20

Percentage who say it will lead to more opportunities for women in the workplace in the long run: 28

Percentage who say it won't make much of a difference: 51

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

Ranks of New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont and Minnesota on the list of states with the highest tax burden, according to WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Alaska, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida and New Hampshire on the list of states with the lowest tax burden: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of employed Americans (including adults working both full time and part time) who are likely to have been offered strictly online training, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Axonify: 17

Percentage who have been offered classroom-based training: 15

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage growth in the world wellness market in the last two years -- from a $3.7 trillion industry in 2015 to $4.2 trillion in 2017, according to a report by the Global Wellness Institute: 12.8

Annual percentage growth in the wellness industry -- nearly twice as fast as global economic growth (3.6 percent) from 2015 to 2017: 6.4

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage increase over 2017 in expected holiday retail sales in November and December -- excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants, according the National Retail Federation: 4.3 to 4.8

Total increase this represents: $3.44 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of households with over-the-top (OTT) -- or streaming internet-based -- subscriptions that subscribe to Hulu, Amazon Prime Video or Netflix, according to research by Parks Associates: 91

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein

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