Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of all Americans who say that housing affordability is a key issue for them, according to a recent online survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Enterprise: 59

Percentage of those surveyed who say that they have personally struggled to pay their rent or mortgage in the last 12 months, or know someone who has been in this situation: 47

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Amount that banks located in the 10 largest U.S. markets are offering their customers in cash for opening a new checking account, according to Bankrate.com: $50 to $400

In New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., amount offered by Citibank -- the most lucrative of the sign-up bonuses: $400

Amount offered by the First Republic Bank in San Francisco: $350

Source: Bankrate.com.

Cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in 1967, according to the U.S. Census Buueau (equal to $2.13 in 2015 dollars): 33 cents

Cost of a gallon of regular gas in 2016: $1.86

Price of milk in 1967 (equal to $7.32 in 2015 dollars): $1.03 gallon

Price of milk in 2016: $3.31 gallon

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of major roads in California that are in poor condition (seven times higher than in Florida, the state with the lowest percentage of roads in poor condition at 7 percent), according to WalletHub: 51

Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in Alabama (highest in the nation -- two times higher than in California, the state with the lowest, at 4.30): 8.68

Incarceration rate per 100,000 residents age 18 or older in Louisiana (highest in the nation -- six times higher than in Maine, the state with the lowest, at 189): 1,072

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of basic security programs that cover phishing and social engineering attacks, according to the Experian Data Breach Resolution and Ponemon Institute study: 49

Percentage that cover mobile device security: 38

Percentage of companies that provide no incentives to employees for being proactive in protecting sensitive information or reporting potential issues: 67

Among those that do provide incentives, percentage that provide a financial reward: 19

Source: Experian.

Percentage of Americans who expect advertising to be entertaining, according YouGov research: 70

Rank of "I am stuck on Band-Aid brand 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me" on the list of corporate jingles people like most: 1

Rank of "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup": 2

Rank of "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" on the list: 3

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of younger consumers ages 18 to 34 who say that they are optimistic about the economy, compared to only 37 percent of those age 50 or older, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores: 60

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Ranks of Windows app and Windows OS problems, viruses/spyware/malware/pop-ups, and printer trouble on the list of technology issues that most trouble consumers and businesses, according to RESCUECOM: 1, 2, 3

Source: RESCUECOM.

Percentage of drinking-age Americans planning to imbibe this summer who say "refreshing" is what they're most likely to look for in an alcoholic beverage this summer, according to results of a Harris Poll: 65

Ranks of fruity, crisp, sweet and citrusy on the list of preferences summer drinkers are also looking for: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of regular drinkers who are more likely to "day drink" in the summer than any other season: 58

Percentage who like drinking outside this time of year: 80

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of adults who think they need additional credit, according to the Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S Households in 2015, prepared by the Consumer and Community Development Research Section of the Federal Reserve Board: 46

Percentage of adults wanting more credit who say they have difficulty accessing additional credit: 40

Percentage of adults with a credit card who regularly carry a balance on that card: 57

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Idle Thought

"The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny." -- Wole Soyinka, playwright, Nobel laureate

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

Average price of a new car or light truck in 2016, according to Kelley Blue Book: $33,865

According to a study by Bankrate.com, of the 50 U.S. cities with the largest populations, number in which a median-income household cannot afford the average-priced new car or light truck: 50

Ranks of San Jose, California; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and San Diego on the list of cities with the highest amount of money available for a new vehicle among median-income households: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Detroit; Rochester, New York; Cleveland; Hartford, Connecticut; and Buffalo, New York, on the list of cities where a median-income household can least afford a new vehicle: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of senior managers who said it's unprofessional to include emojis or emoticons in work communications, according to research from OfficeTeam: 39

Percentage who gave it the OK hand sign, saying it's fine in certain situations: 40

Percentage who gave it a smiley face, calling it fun: 21

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of millennials who report that they now carry their cellphone in their hand throughout the day, according to YouGov research: 51

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of Americans who make all their purchases with cash, according to a Gallup poll, down from 19 percent five years ago: 10

Percentage who never use cash, up from 10 percent: 12

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of workers who say they would struggle to meet emergency expenses of $400, according to the Federal Reserve Board: 46

Percentage who say they are juggling two or more jobs: 22

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Amount of money that U.S. consumers spent on candy in the 52 weeks ending April 30, 2016, according to a survey by Nielsen: $21.5 billion

Amount generated in sales during major holidays like Easter and Halloween: $3.5 billion

Source: Nielsen Insights.

Percentage of employers who will raise wages for current employees in the second half of the year, according to CareerBuilder's Midyear Job Forecast: 50

Percentage who will offer higher starting salaries with job offers: 40

Percentage of employers who plan to hire full-time, permanent workers, on par with 49 percent last year: 50

Percentage of employers who plan to hire part-time employees, on par with 28 percent last year: 28

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of American automobile drivers who have been on the receiving end of a "rude/hostile hand gesture," according to the Expedia 2016 Road Rage Report: 48

Percentage who have been yelled or cursed at: 35

Percentage who have been accosted by a driver who exited his or her vehicle to do so: 13

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of Americans who say they are likely to use sharing economy services such as AirBnB, HomeAway, Uber or Lyft during their summer vacation this year, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance: 36

Percentage of Americans who say they find sharing economy services such as AirBnB, HomeAway, Uber or Lyft to be trustworthy: 48

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of CFOs who said they are confident their millennial employees -- workers born between 1978 and 1999 -- possess management potential, according to a Robert Half survey: 85

Percentage of CFOs who said their organizations most often provide onsite training to help train millennial workers for leadership positions: 60

Percentage who said they provide opportunities to attend conferences, seminars and webinars: 57

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" -- Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author

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

Number of minutes that Americans talked on their mobile phones in 2015, according to survey results released by CTIA: 2.8 trillion

Number of texts, videos and photo messages Americans exchanged (more than 4 million every minute): 2.1 trillion

Source: CTIA.

Percentage of workers who admit to checking in with the office at least once or twice a week while on holiday, according to a survey from Accountemps: 41

Percentage of workers who took fewer or no days off because they worried about their colleagues absorbing their workload: 35

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who say that they feel they have too little motivation on a typical Monday, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Connect on behalf of Spotify: 55

Ranks of coffee and music on the list of the top ranked pick-me-ups: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employers who say two or more hours a day are lost in productivity because employees are distracted, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder: 75

Percentage who say at least three hours a day are lost: 43

Ranks of personal messaging, weather, news, games and shopping on the list of non-work related sites accessed for non-work use: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Percentage of employers who say lost productivity lowers morale because other workers have to pick up the slack: 38 percent

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When asked to gauge the opinions of their fellow Americans, percentage of U.S. adults who estimate that Americans believe divorce is acceptable, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 88

Percentage of adults who believe that having parents who are divorced is better for children than having parents who are together but unhappy: 71

Percentage of children of divorce who share that sentiment: 82

Percentage of children who haven't experienced the divorce of their parents who say the same: 68

Source: The Harris Poll.

Given the state of the labor market, percentage of CEOs, CFOs, controllers and other senior-level people who said they expect it will be harder to fill open positions over the next 12 months, according to a survey by the American Institute of CPAs: 61

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Percentage of CFOs who said strategic-thinking abilities are important for accounting and finance professionals, according to the results of a Robert Half Management Resources survey: 86

Percentage of executives who said their organization does not provide related professional development opportunities: 46

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Expected percentage growth in global wearable device wholesale revenues in 2016, with smartwatches capturing the biggest slice of the wearables revenue pie, according to a Strategy Analytics study: 31

Rank of fitness bands in terms of units-shipped worldwide: 1

Rank of the smartglasses segment on the list of the most anticipated revenue growth through 2022, estimated to become the second largest revenue pool by 2022 behind smartwatches: 1

Source: Strategy Analytics.

Percentage of respondents around the world who say grocery shopping is something they try to spend as little time as possible doing, according to Nielsen's Global Think Smaller for Big Growth Report: 46

Percentage of shoppers who say they actively seek products with healthful ingredients: 67

Ranks of banking, fast food, prepared food and pharmacy on the list of in-store add-on services that are the most widely available and used by global respondents: 1, 2 (tie), 4

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of adults who say they either could not cover an emergency expense costing $400 or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money, according to the report on the economic well-being of U.S. households prepared by the Consumer and Community Development Research Section of the Federal Reserve Board: 46

Percentage who experienced a major unexpected medical expense that they had to pay out of pocket: 22

Percentage of those who say they had a major medical expense that led them to owing debt: 46

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Idle Thought

"Writing is the Latin of our times. The modern language of the people is video and sound." -- Lawrence Lessig, professor and political activist

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