Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of single men who say they are more productive in the workplace when they are dating someone, according to a survey by Zoosk: 64

Percentage of single women who say their productivity actually goes down or is unchanged when they are in a relationship: 53

Percentage of men who say their role model for living a "fabulous unmarried life" is George Clooney: 65

Percentage of single women who say Cameron Diaz is living the ultimate unmarried life: 62

Source: Zoosk.

Percentage of Americans, prompted by nasty headlines about the economy and the stock market, who reduced their spending in the past 60 days, according to Bankrate.com's September Financial Security Index: 40

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of parents who believe that helping their kids with algebra is harder than teaching them to drive a car, according to the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress: 70

Percentage of eighth-graders who scored at or above the proficient level in math: 34

Source: Sylvan Learning.

Ranks of Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina on the list of places having the best business climates among the 50 states, according to a survey of U.S. corporate executives conducted by Development Counselors International (DCI): 1, 2, 3

Ranks of California, New York and Illinois on the list of U.S. states with the least favorable business climates: 1, 2, 3

Source: Development Counselors International.

Number of older adults -- more than a quarter of those 55 and older -- who contributed, on average, more than 3 billion hours of service in their communities per year between 2008 and 2010, according to data released by the Corporation for National and Community Service: 18.7 million

Estimated yearly economic benefit of this service to the nation: $64 billion

Source: Corporation for National and Community Service.

Percentage of cats who said their favorite thing to do was to stay on the move and roam around the house, according to world's first cat survey with Temptations Treats for Cats and Sonya Fitzpatrick -- best known for her television series on Animal Planet and her current SiriusXM show, "Animal Intuition": 52

Percentage of cats who said they liked to watch television: 2

Percent of cats who said getting wet was their biggest annoyance: 49

Source: Temptations.

Percentage of family businesses where the strategic issues are mostly decided by a family council, according to a study of family business owners and executives from the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe released by executive search firm Egon Zehnder International: 51 percent

Percentage of executives from this type of company who describe collaboration with the owners as "marked by major conflicts": 33

Percentage of conflicts that are caused by doubts regarding the merits of family members who work at the company: 60

When asked why they would not work for a family business, percentage of executives who named a lack of career prospects: 40

Source: Egon Zehnder International.

Rank of rice on the list of the world's most important grains, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1

Number of pounds of rice consumed annually by individual Americans in 1980: 9.5

Number of pounds consumed today: 21

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of business leaders who ranked increased technological capabilities such as IT, mobile computing and social media to be the most important skills by far for tomorrow's global workforce, according to an international survey of business leaders from the U.S., U.K., China and Brazil, commissioned by Global Partnership Schools and GEMS Education from PricewaterhouseCoopers: 37

Percentage who ranked deep technical skills as the most important skill for tomorrow's global workforce: 20

Source: Global Partnership Schools.

Percentage of U.S. adults ages 25-54 who said they would encourage college students to participate in internship programs and the networking opportunities that exist there to make getting a job easier, according to a survey by Aerotek: 57

Percentage of those who held internships who found their current job through networking: 55

Source: Aerotek.

Idle Thought

"All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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

Of the people who took leisure trips this year, percentage who revealed they often struggle with feelings of melancholy following their return from vacation, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 34

Percentage who said they always do: 20

Percentage of vacationers who say their "stress-o-meter" readings return to pre-vacation highs soon after returning home: 84

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of Americans who incorporated exercise into their daily commute this summer through activities like walking, running or biking to the workplace, according to an Adecco survey: 36

Percentage who said they have taken walks on their lunch break: 57

Percentage of Americans who indicated they go to the gym before or after work during the summer months: 49

Source: Adecco.

Of the people in America 18 and older in 2010, percentage who were unmarried, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 43.6

Number of people this represents: 99.6 million

Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older who had never been married: 61

Percentage who were divorced: 23.8

Percentage who were widowed: 14.4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of small businesses that consider data to be their organization's most valuable asset, according to research from Carbonite Inc.: 81

Rank of the permanent loss of data on the list of challenges to maintaining their business in the event of a natural disaster -- even more devastating than the loss of the physical location or of products and materials: 1

Percentage of small businesses that never re-open after a data disaster, according to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): 40 to 60

Source: Carbonite Inc.

Percentage of parents with children 14 to 18 years old who are talking to them about college funding, according to the fifth-annual College Savings Foundation survey of parents: 88

Percentage who are talking about their involvement in paying for it: 57

Percentage of parents who expect their children to help with financing: 62

Percentage who expect them to assume between one-third and two-thirds: 42

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Percentage of middle-income baby boomers who do not have a 401(k), IRA, pension or any other type of retirement account, according to a study of boomer finances released by the Bankers Life and Casualty Co.'s Center for a Secure Retirement: 14

Percentage of respondents who own a home who have already paid off their mortgage: 32

Percentage who do not expect to have it paid off before they retire: 48

Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Co.

Percentage more likely that a child (up to age 12) born to cohabiting parents will experience a parental breakup vs. a child born to married parents: 170

Number of times more likely children are to be physically, sexually or emotionally abused in cohabiting households compared to children in intact, biological married parent homes: 3

Source: Center for Marriage and Families.

Percentage of Americans who approve of marriages between blacks and whites, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll: 86

Percentage of blacks who approve these marriages: 96

Percentage of whites who approve: 84

When Gallup first asked about black-white marriages in 1958, percentage who approved: 4

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of parents of teenage drivers who said if online information about the basics of car repair were available to their teen, they would encourage him/her to use it, according to an AutoMD.com survey: 97

Percentage of parents who rated their teen's basic knowledge of car maintenance as either "somewhat or completely clueless" or "average": 65

Source: AutoMD.com.

Percentage of IT executives who say their own CIO is viewed as a steward who protects current assets and works with available resources, according to a Deloitte survey of IT executives in the U.S., conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP: 45

Percentage who say their CIO is a strategist: 45

Percentage who claim their CIO is a revolutionary: 10

Source: DeLoitte LLP.

Percentage of U.S. adults who said they feel less financially secure than they did one year ago, according to CouponCabin's first Savings and Spending Report: 45

Percentage who said they always worry about money: 16

Source: CouponCabin.

Idle Thought

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -- Leonardo da Vinci

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

For every five people looking for work, number of job openings available, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy: l

Number of workers (32 percent of the 14 million unemployed workers) who have been out of work for a year or more: 4.5 million

Number who have been unemployed for six months to a year: 1.7 million

Source: CLASP.

Ranks of the University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the list of the QS World University Rankings based on six indicators, including surveys of more than 33,000 global academics and 16,000 graduate employers: 1, 2, 3

Number of American universities in the top 20: 13

Source: QS World University Rankings.

Percentage of working moms who say they spend more time each day parenting than on their careers, according to a survey commissioned by VTech: 48

Percentage of working dads who say the same: 19

Percentage of working moms who report that they have an hour or less to themselves each day: 70

Percentage who report that they have less than 15 minutes: 20

Source: VTech Electronics.

Even with the current national unemployment rate hovering at just over 9 percent, percentage of U.S. adults who reported that the spirit of the U.S. workforce is broken, according to a survey released by Aflac: 35

Percentage of employed adults who reported that their paycheck is the majority of the reason they work: 69

Percentage of adults employed full- or part-time, and not currently self-employed, who stated they would leave their current position to become an independent entrepreneur: 77

Source: Aflac Inc.

Percentage of cloth diapering families who say they only use cloth diapers and never/rarely use disposables, according to a survey by DiaperShops.com: 79

Percentage of respondents who say they own 31 or more cloth diapers, even though most manufacturers recommend needing to have only about 20 diapers on hand: 44

Ranks of saving money, being more eco-friendly and health of baby on the list of reasons families choose to cloth diaper: 1, 2, 3

Source: DiaperShops.com.

Number of states that have had teen unemployment rates averaging more than 20 percent through the summer of 2011, according to a new Employment Policies Institute analysis of jobs data: 35

Ranks of the District of Columbia, Nevada and California on the list of highest state unemployment for 16- to 19-year-olds: 1, 2, 3

Source: Employment Policies Institute.

Percentage of consumers who say they find online channels trustworthy sources for product and service reviews, according to the 20ll Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker: 89

Percentage of consumers who have changed their minds about a recommended purchase based solely on negative information they found online, up from just 67 percent of consumers who said the same in 2010: 80

Source: Cone.

Percentage of students who strongly agreed that college is an investment in the future, an increase from 84 percent in 2010, according to a Sallie Mae national study of college students and parents: 90

Percentage of students and parents who strongly agreed that a college education is necessary for their desired occupation, and that college is required to earn more, up from 63 amd 59 percent, respectively, in 2010: 70

Source: Sallie Mae.

Percentage of employed Americans who have changed jobs in the last year, up 4 percentage points from 2010, according to the fifth-annual Labor Happiness Index commissioned by SnagAJob: 22

Of those who have landed a new job in the last year, percentage who said it was a proactive move on their part in seeking a new opportunity, up 13 percentage points from the previous survey: 44

Percentage of working Americans who say that the most important issue facing the country today is the economy, up 8 percentage points from last year, and the highest reading in the five-year survey: 66

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Percentage of executives who say they are planning to hire professional-level staff in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Robert Half Professional Employment Report: 12

Percentage who foresee making cutbacks: 5

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." -- Mohandas Gandhi

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