Rank of Valentine's Day on the list of the biggest holiday/season for the $22 billion U.S. chocolate candy industry, according to market research firm Packaged Facts: 3

Ranks of Christmas and Halloween: 1, 2

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of Americans (29 million) who are currently hiding a checking, savings or credit card account from their live-in partner or spouse, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 19

Percentage who used to hide such an account from their current romantic partner, but no longer do: 3

Percentage who believe that keeping a secret bank or credit card account is at least equal in severity to physical cheating -- includes 1 in 5 who think it's worse: 55

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of small business owners who report they do not use technology to its full capacity, thereby missing opportunities to improve productivity and operational efficiencies, according to a study by Oasis: 42

Percentage who stated, "We do not use any technology in my business on a weekly basis": 13

Percentage who say they "limit the use of it because they are just too busy getting the job done each day": 10

Source: Oasis.

Ranks of M&M's "Bad Passengers," Amazon Alexa's "Not Everything Makes the Cut," and Microsoft's "We All Win" on the list of best-liked Super Bowl ads, according to a survey by Suzy: 1, 2, 3

Source: Suzy.

Percentage of pet owners who say they would rather spend a day with their pet than their significant other, according to a Purina survey: 13

Percentage of pet owners who say they're likely to post a picture of their pet on social media for Valentine's Day: 41

Percentage who are likely to organize a Valentine's Day themed dinner date with their pet: 20

Source: Purina.

Percentage of currently employed U.S. adults who say they have experienced job burnout, according to a University of Phoenix Survey: 55

Percentage who say they have taken days off for mental health: 34

Percentage who say they have taken time off for physical ailments: 61

Ranks of anxiety (67 percent), fatigue (66 percent), depression (58 percent) and anger (55 percent) on the list of signs of job burnout: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: University of Phoenix.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who view automation as having more benefits than drawbacks, according to an Ipsos survey: 48

Percentage who see it making life easier and more interesting: 67

Percentage who find that automation has made products and services better: 53

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Estimated number of Americans who will get an unwanted Valentine's Day gift in 2019, which equates to about 17 percent of the population, according to research by Finder.com: 43 million

Estimated amount Americans will be spending on gifts nobody wants: $9.5 billion

Source: Finder.com.

Percentage of people who are likely to research a company and its products if they value the content it produces and markets, according to a survey published by Clutch: 55

Among the people who value content marketing, percentage who have purchased a business's products or services because of content marketing: 86

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of pet owners who say traveling with their pets sometimes causes conflict with the friends or family they're visiting, according to an Ipsos poll: 40

Percentage who will decline an invitation if they can't bring their pet: 20

Percentage of people who say if a guest's pet misbehaves, they will ask the the guest to leave: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -- Lao Tzu

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

Percentage of professionals who said they know someone who's called in sick or made an excuse for skipping work following a major sporting event, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 54

Percentage of senior managers who identified playing hooky the day after as the most distracting or annoying employee behavior when it comes to sports: 42

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of Americans who will be pulling out all the stops on Feb. 14, spending a collective $30 billion, according to research by Finder.com: 54

Approximate number of Americans this represents: 43 million

Percentage of men who expect to buy a gift for a loved one, versus only 45 percent of women: 62

Average projected spend by men buying gifts for their wives in 2019: $357.96

Average projected spend by women buying gifts for their husbands: $206.23

Source: Finder.com.

Percentage of American adults who take vitamins or supplements, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association: 86

Percentage of those taking vitamins or supplements who had received test results indicating they have a nutritional deficiency: 24

Source: American Osteopathic Association.

Estimated percentage of the world's entrepreneurs who are working with family members, according to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's 2018-2019 Global Report, sponsored by Babson College, Universidad Del Desarrollo and Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation: 19

Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

Despite awareness of their increased spending in 2018, percentage of Americans who have never had a budget, according to a survey released by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.: 20

Percentage who find it easy to spend money: 77

Percentage who say it's easy to overspend when using a credit card or mobile payment: 64

Percentage who do not track their spending: 59

Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.

Average amount American adults say they planned to spend on food, drinks and party supplies as they watched the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl, according to the National Retail Federation: $81.30

Total spend: $14.8 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of people who have agreed to accomplish more than they can actually do in the time they have available, according to a study from researchers at VitalSmarts: 60

Percentage who say they have reached their limit and can't possibly commit to more: 20

Source: VitalSmarts.

Percentage of Americans who say they plan to share chocolate and candy with friends, family and loved ones during Valentine's Day, according to a National Confectioners Association survey: 80

Percentage who are in agreement that chocolate and candy are a treat: 92

Source: National Confectioners Association.

Percentage of Americans with a side hustle or gig who cite the desire to supplement their income as the main reason for taking on the extra work, according to Packaged Facts: 41

Percentage of side giggers who rely on these jobs as their primary source of income: 15

Percentage of gig workers who say the side jobs play a role in leisure activities and are performed just for fun or as a hobby: 19

Source: Packaged Facts.

Number of American adults who say they bet on the Super Bowl, according to a survey conducted for the American Gaming Association by Morning Consult: 22.7 million

Estimated amount that Americans say they wagered: $6 billion

Source: American Gaming Association.

Idle Thought

"Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view." -- Paul Klee, painter

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

Percentage of senior managers who are open to rehiring boomerang employees (staff members who previously left the company on good terms), according to an Accountemps survey: 94

Percentage of former employees who would be likely to apply for a position with a previous company: 52

Ranks of dissatisfaction with management (22 percent), poor fit with organizational culture (17 percent) and unfulfilling job duties (13 percent) on the list of reasons professionals cited for not wanting to return to past employers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Accountemps.

Ranks of Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, on Orkin's Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list, according to Orkin's Behind the Cost of Bed Bugs Hospitality Industry Report (in partnership with The Bantam Group): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Orkin LLC.

Percentage of Americans who know their Social Security number, according to research by Quest Diagnostics: 94

Percentage who know their social media passwords: 80

Percentage who know the current balance in their financial accounts: 75

Source: Quest Diagnostics.

Percentage of workers who said they would consider moving for a position, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 62

Percentage of companies that have increased what's offered in the relocation packages they present to top candidates outside their geographic area: 34

Ranks of better pay and perks (44 percent), family or personal reasons (17 percent), cost of living (16 percent) and career advancement (16 percent) on the list of the top factors in the decision to move for a job: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Number of pounds of grain consumed by cattle per pound of beef, according to research conducted by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and The Beef Checkoff, and published in the journal Agricultural Systems: 2.6

Percentage of harvested corn grain in the U.S. that is used to feed beef cattle: 9

Source: National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Percentage of social media users who interact on social media at least 10 times per day by either liking, sharing or posting content, according to a survey from The Manifest: 30

Percentage of users who post images, compared to 47 percent who post updates/announcements, 46 percent who post videos and 42 percent who post opinions: 69

Source: The Manifest.

Percentage of Americans who agree that employable adults aren't working today because they don't possess the skills they need for the jobs they want, according to the results of an American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor survey: 45

Percentage who say few jobs are available in their specific field, trade or skill set: 45

Percentage who cite limited job opportunities where they live: 33

Source: American Staffing Association.

Percentage of millennials (ages 18 to 37) who foresee an improved personal financial state in 2019, compared to just 35 percent of those who are older, according to a Bankrate.com report: 59

Among those who think their finances will improve this year, percentage who believe it will be because they will make more money at work, ahead of things like having less debt (38 percent) or making more money from savings and investments (17 percent): 52

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of U.S. business leaders who said it was "unlikely" that their businesses would be laying off workers in 2019, according to a survey by Zogby Analytics: 55

Percentage of business decision-makers from large businesses (5,000-plus employees) who said it was likely that they would lay off workers this year: 28

Source: Zogby International.

When it comes to risk-taking in the workplace, percentage of women who are open to taking small risks to further their career, according to a study of professional women by KPMG: 69

Percentage who are open to taking bigger risks that may be associated with career advancement: 43

Source: KPMG.

Idle Thought

"Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun." -- Christina Rossetti, poet

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