Percentage of Americans who replied "definitely yes" or "yes" to the question, "Do you think high school students should take personal finance courses in high school?" according to research conducted by the National Financial Educators Council: 84.5

Source: National Financial Educators Council.

Percentage of Americans who now say they wear a mask at all times when they leave home, according to the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: 63

Percentage who say they wear one at least some of the time: 88

Percentage who say their own behavior is making the pandemic better: 81

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of professionals who said it's appropriate to discuss politics with colleagues, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 22

Percentage who noted it's never OK: 26

Percentage of respondents who stated it depends on the situation: 53

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of university students who dislike virtual learning environments necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey of university students across North America, South America and Europe by the Three Amigos, a group of three university professors and four students: 65

After the conversion to a virtual educational environment, percentage of students who reported lower overall performance and outcomes: 79

Percentage who reported lower test results: 59

When asked about what could be improved in virtual teaching, percentage of students who wanted more personal interaction with professors and fellow students -- sharing ideas, knowledge, opinions, points of view and experiences: 75

Source: Three Amigos.

Estimated number of states that do not mandate face coverings in public, according to Clutch's 2020 Return to Work Survey: 15

As offices reopen, percentage of U.S companies that say masks will be part of the employee dress code: 60

Percentage of companies actively creating guidelines and making changes to prepare their office space for their staff's return: 91 

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of renters who say they would rent an apartment without ever seeing the property in person if a 3D virtual tour was offered, according to a survey conducted by Zumper and Matterport: 72

Percentage of property owners who have advertised with a 3D walkthrough who were able to rent their property entirely virtually: 82

Percentage who say that potential renters would be more interested in a listing that offered a 3D virtual tour over one that didn't: 90

Source: Zumper.

For students returning to the classroom, percentage of parents who plan to use their car to take their children to school, according to a survey by Cars.com: 55

Percentage increase in the number of parents who are planning to carpool with other families: 22

Percentage of parents who will have their kids take the school bus, a 31% drop compared to pre-pandemic estimates: 30

Source: Cars.com.

Percentage of K-12 educators who consider their job at least somewhat risky in terms of potential exposure to people who may have COVID-19, according to a poll by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence: 72

Percentage who say the risks they are taking working during the pandemic are not on par with their compensation: 26

Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

Percentage of parents who felt very prepared to become a parent, according to research by Boudreaux's Butt Paste: 12

Percentage who revealed that their baby has a more expensive personal care routine than they do: 56

Even with feeling unprepared -- and having a handful of "hiccups" per week -- percentage of parents who said they excel in teaching their children to be kind and compassionate: 66

Source: Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Idle Thought

"I dreamt that my hair was kempt. Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it." -- Ogden Nash, poet

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

Percentage of employees who say their employer tracks them with employee monitoring software, according to new data from Clutch: 21

Percentage of employees in the U.S. who say their company doesn't use employee monitoring software: 49

Percentage of employees who believe they would trust their employer more if they used the software: 10

Percentage who believe employee monitoring software would reduce trust: 37

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of parents with school-age children who say remote learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak during the 2020-21 school year would negatively impact their finances, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 61

Overall, percentage of parents who would incur additional miscellaneous expenses (technology, tutoring, meals, etc.): 30

Percentage who believe their career opportunities would be limited by balancing work and child care: 22

Percentage who would have to cut back on their work hours: 23

Percentage who would have to pay for additional child care: 16

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of the U.S. population who are aware of the importance of sun protection and state they use sun protection during sun exposure, according to a survey on sunscreen habits by ISIDIN: 50.3

Percentage who use sunscreen on a daily basis: 37

Percentage of skin aging that is caused by accumulative sun damage: 80

Source: ISIDIN.

Percentage of owners of small- to medium-sized businesses who report customer numbers are back up to what they experienced before the virus -- an 8% jump over last month, according to an Alignable survey: 32

Percentage who report they are at or above pre-COVID levels: 26

Percentage who say they're operating with only half (or less) of their January 2020 revenues: 47

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of concert and festival fans who are opting to keep tickets for rescheduled live shows, according to financial results released by Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.: 86

Number of tickets sold to more than 4,000 concerts and festivals scheduled for 2021: 19 million

Source: Live Nation Entertainment.

Percentage of shoppers who plan to stock up if another shutdown occurs, according to a COVID-19 grocery shopper research report from Acosta: 53

Percentage of shoppers who stocked up at the start of the pandemic and plan to stock up again in the event of another shutdown: 38

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of people in the U.S. who have participated in remote training, according to a new survey report from Clutch: 57

Percentage of people who participated in remote training who say it was ineffective: 27

Percentage of employees who say that remote training is either somewhat or very effective: 61

Source: Clutch.

Ranks of laptop, speakers/headphones and electronic accessories on the list of items that parents and students expect to have to buy should online education be the educational scenario this fall, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 1, 2, 3,

Percentage of K-12 families who expect to buy computers and other electronics this year, up from 54% last year: 63

Source: NRF.

Percentage increase in fall and Labor Day bookings for RVs, according to an RVshare survey: 50

Percentage who plan to travel in the next three months and hope to do so for seven to 10 days: 69

Percentage who report that they will not fly anytime soon, and will continue to choose road tripping: 63

Source: RVshare.

Idle Thought

"Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need. " -- Voltaire, philosopher

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

Ranks of visible tattoos, casual attire and non-traditional hair colors on the list of behaviors that are more acceptable today than they were in the past, according to research by Accountemps: 1, 2 (tie)

Percentage of senior managers who cited loosening societal standards as the top reason for the shift: 59

Percentage who said another reason was companies catering to younger professionals: 51

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of parents who now support using virtual learning for smaller-scale school disruptions, such as snow days, according to the results of research by Pearson and Connections Academy: 83

Percentage of parents who say that the disruption of school has added to overall feelings of stress and anxiety among young people: 89

Source: Pearson.

Percentage of people who are planning to tap their 401(k) today (41% for those laid off due to COVID-19), according to the SimplyWise survey: 24

Percentage who now plan to work in retirement: 72

Source: SimplyWise.

Percentage of women who said they'd be unlikely to consider dating a man with shirtless images displayed in their profile for a committed relationship, according to a survey by dating.com: 76

Percentage of male dating profiles that contain at least one shirtless picture: 60

Percentage of female dating profiles that contain at least one bikini/bathing suit picture: 20

Percentage increase in overall match rates that this same group of women had compared to their covered-up counterparts: 40

Source: Dating.com Group.

Percentage of students who said they have lost a job due to COVID-19 needed to help pay for college, according to a student survey conducted by Scholarship America: 30

Percentage who said a parent has lost a job: 28

Percentage who said they are not planning on enrolling in the fall because of COVID-19: 4

Source: Scholarship America.

Percentage of Americans who view "taking the first generation COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it's available" as a moderate or large risk, according to the Axios-Ipsos Index: 61

Percentage who view participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials as very risky: 69

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of parents who know their school's plans for the fall who report that their children will be in some level of remote education when school resumes, according to a survey conducted by Discount School Supply: 71

As schools continue to adjust their plans, percentage of families who are still unsure of their family's fall strategy: 25

Source: Discount School Supply.

Among the 16% of U.S. adults who think their finances will be worse this year, percentage who blamed the work done by political leaders in Washington, D.C., according to a survey by Bankrate: 44

Percentage of Americans who claim to have had at least one financial goal going into 2020: 83

Rank of "paying down debt" as the most popular goal: 1

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who said they do not feel like they are saving enough to cover unexpected expenses that may come up in the future, according to a survey based on questions prepared by Varo Money: 90

Source: Varo Money.

Amid the ongoing uncertainty, percentage of shoppers who expect K-12 and college students will take at least some of their classes at home this fall, according to a survey by National Retail Federation: 55

Percentage who expect most or all classes will be taught in-person: 26

Of those expecting students to be at home, percentage who believe they will need to buy items like computers, home furnishings or other supplies to accommodate learning: 72

Source: NRF.

Idle Thought

"The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is." -- Nadine Gordimer, novelist, Nobel laureate

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