Percentage of Americans who reported having at least one online subscription, according to a report from CompareCards.com: 76

Percentage who pay for services like Netflix and Hulu: 58

Percentage who said they paid for online subscription shopping like Amazon Prime: 41

Percentage who subscribe to a music service like Spotify or Pandora: 34

Source: CompareCards.

Number of hot dogs that MLB fans are expected to consume this season, according to a survey by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council: 18.3 million

Estimated number of sausages that will be eaten: 4 million

Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

Percentage of U.S. parents (6 million) who say they have a child under 18 with a credit card, according to a CreditCards.com report released today: 8

Among parents who have credit cards, percentage who said their kids have used the parents’ card without permission: 21

Percentage who said it has happened multiple times: 13

Source: CreditCards.com.

Ranks of shared interests, a satisfying sexual relationship and sharing household chores as the most important elements to a successful marriage, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: 1, 2, 3

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of resumes HR managers receive that are from candidates who don't meet the job requirements, according to research from Robert Half: 42

Percentage of professionals who admitted they would submit for a role when they don't match all the qualifications: 78

Percentage of HR managers who reported their company is open to hiring an employee whose skills can be developed through training: 84

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of workers who say it's common for employees to use company time for personal income tax preparation (e.g., printing paperwork, filling out forms, talking to their accountant), according to an Accountemps survey: 43

Percentage who say employees routinely use office resources (e.g., copier, printer, scanner, mailroom) to complete tax paperwork: 50

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who will make Easter baskets this year, according to a National Confectioners Association survey: 66

Percentage of Americans who say chocolate eggs and bunnies continue to be their favorite Easter candy, while jelly beans and candy-coated eggs are not far behind: 55

Average number of times people in the United States enjoy chocolate and candy, adding just 40 calories and about one teaspoon of added sugar per day: 2 to 3 times per week

Source: National Confectioners Association.

Percentage of buyers' agents who say that staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home, according to a National Association of Realtors' survey: 83

Percentage of sellers' agents who said that staging a home decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market: 53

Percentage who say staging a home increases its dollar value by 1% to 5%: 25

Source: National Association of Realtors.

Percentage of the people who acknowledged that they are more likely to buy optical glasses that are trendy and offer an extra feature, technological or practical, than to buy them just for health purposes, according to a survey conducted by GlassesUSA.com: 76

Source: GlassesUSA.com.

Idle thought

“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” -- Anonymous

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

Percentage of families who find the idea of an "unplugged" family vacation appealing, according to research from Alamo Rent A Car: 91

Percentage of families who have committed to an unplugged vacation: 37

Percentage of that group who were successful: 92

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

Percentage of senior managers who said college basketball tournament activities have a positive impact on staff morale, according to research from Robert Half: 72

Percentage who also see productivity benefits: 52

Percentage of employees who said they are distracted at work by sports, up from 38 percent in 2016: 49

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Estimated amount that American businesses are losing per year due to employees' personal financial stress, according to a survey by Salary Finance: $500 billion Percentage of U.S. employees who are worried about money, leading to depression, panic attacks, sleepless nights and distractions at work: 48

Percentage of the U.S. GDP impacted due to lost productivity: 2.5

Source: Salary Finance.

Percentage of global consumers who feel they are better off financially than they were five years ago, according to a Nielsen report: 58

Percentage who are able to live comfortably and are able to buy some things they want: 53

Percentage who can afford only food, shelter and basic needs: 32

Source: Nielsen Insights.

Percentage of U.S. employers who have been directly affected by employee use of opioids, according to a survey released by the National Safety Council: 75

Percentage who have experienced absenteeism or impaired worker performance: 38

Percentage who have had an overdose, arrest, a near-miss or an injury because of employee opioid use: 31

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of millennials who ranked teeth as the No. 1 thing they would save or maintain about their body, compared to baby boomers' preference for saving their eyesight, according to a survey conducted by the American Association of Endodontists: 24

Percentage of women who feel strongly that saving their natural teeth helps them feel better about themselves, compared to 51 percent of men: 61

Ranks of photos and scrapbooks (38 percent) and family mementos and keepsakes (29 percent) on the list of household items Americans said they cherished most: 1, 2

Source: American Association of Endodontists.

Estimated percentage of Americans who are expecting to receive a tax refund this year, according to a nationwide survey conducted by SunTrust: 67

Percentage who will use at least a portion of their check from Uncle Sam to pay down debt: 31

Percentage of respondents who plan to spend their refund on travel and entertainment: 24

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Estimated percentage of the individual retirement accounts (IRAs) owned by those near or in retirement (ages 60 or older) that saw balance increases over a three-year period, according to new research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI): 50

Among the IRAs owned by retirees who are just starting their Required Minimum Distributions (ages 71 to 74), percentage that had increasing balances during this period: 49.2

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of small businesses that will increase their investment in social media to boost brand awareness and generate customer leads, according to a new survey from The Manifest: 63

Percentage that are committed to spending more on digital marketing in 2019: 95

Ranks of social media, website, email marketing, SEO, video and content marketing on the list of the top six digital marketing channels small businesses invest in: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: The Manifest.

Percentage of Americans who are willing to spend more money at businesses that have clean, well-maintained restrooms, according to a survey by Bradley Corp.: 52

Percentage who have had an unpleasant experience due to the condition of the washroom: 67

Percentage who have left without doing business: 26

Source: Bradley Corp.

Idle Thought

"In some circumstances, the refusal to be defeated is a refusal to be educated." -- Margaret Halsey, novelist

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

Percentage of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 64 who have used a cannabis-based product, according to a poll by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in 2015 and 2016: 9

Percentage of those over 65 who were prescribed cannabis as a treatment by their doctors in 2016: 25

According to data compiled by Credence Research, value of the global medical marijuana market in 2017: $13.90 billion

Projected value by 2026: $57.58 billion

Source: FinancialBuzz.com.

Percentage of Americans who would rather wait in line at the DMV than argue with a spouse about cleaning, according to the results of the Spring Cleaning and Recommerce survey by OfferUp: 32

Percentage who would rather spend time with their in-laws than have an argument about decluttering: 25

Source: OfferUp.

Ranks of Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve, Saint Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July on the list of the booziest holidays, according to a survey by alcohol.org: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of men who say they binge drink on Saint Patrick's Day: 32

Percentage of women who say the same: 21

Source: American Addiction Centers.

Percentage of travelers who stated they have trouble sleeping when traveling away from home, according to a global study commissioned by IHG Hotels and Resorts: 79

Average amount of sleep a business traveler loses each night when staying away from home, averaging just 5 hours and 17 minutes of sleep: 58 minutes

To aid sleep, percentage who reported listening to music: 47

Percentage who watched TV: 45

Source: IHG Hotels and Resorts.

Number of people who planned to place bets on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, according to a survey released by the American Gaming Association (AGA): 47 million

Amount that Americans plan to wager on this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, with 1-in-5 adults placing a bet: $8.5 billion

During this year's tournament, percentage more than was bet on the Super Bowl that sports fans are expected to wager on March Madness: 40

Source: American Gaming Association.

Percentage of U.S. managers who say that in the workplace robots perform "higher quality work" than humans, according to a national study from edtech firm MindEdge/Skye Learning: 58

Percentage who expect that automation will lead to more job losses in the next five years: 49

Source: MindEdge.

Percentage of job candidates that senior managers report have been removed from consideration for a position with their company after checking references, according to a survey by Accountemps: 34

When speaking to an applicant's job references, percentage of managers who said it was most important to get an insight into the applicant's strengths and weaknesses: 38

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of firms that indicate labor shortage is causing them to ask skilled workers to do more work, according to results from the Q1 2019 USG Corporation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index: 81

Percentage of firms that struggle to meet deadlines: 70

Percentage of firms that reject new projects: 40

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Percentage of working Americans who report they aren't saving any money at all, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 21

Percentage who are saving the minimum 15 percent of their income that most experts recommend: 17

Percentage of working Americans who say their biggest reason for not saving more money was that they simply "haven't gotten around to it": 16

Source: Bankrate.com.

At the 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, percentage of respondents to a survey by TD Wealth who identified family conflict as the leading threat to estate planning in 2019: 46

Ranks of market volatility (24 percent) and tax reform (14 percent) on the list of threats: 2, 3

Source: TD Bank.

Idle Thought

"A hungry man is not a free man." -- Adlai Stevenson, statesman

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