Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of human resource managers who said they spend less than a minute looking at a resume, according to a new CareerBuilder survey: 43

Percentage who say they spend less than 30 seconds: 24

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Number of Americans who are age 100 or over, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 55,000

Percentage who are women: 81

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

In 1954, percentage of all U.S. wage and salary workers who were union members, according to Pew Research Center: 35

Unionization rate in 2015: 11.1

Percentage of Americans who said manufacturing and factory workers should have the right to unionize: 82

Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.

Percentage of Americans who report having financial concerns, according to a study conducted by ClearVoice Research and commissioned by OfferUp: 84

Percentage who report being stressed about medical expenses: 32

Source: Clear Voice Research.

Percentage of Americans who say parents today let their kids wear makeup way too young, according to a Harris Poll: 81

Age at which Americans, on average, say a kid should be when they start wearing makeup: 15

Age at which teens say they started wearing makeup: 13

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of workers who cited "integrity" as a top attribute of corporate leaders, according to research from Robert Half Management Resources: 75

Percentage of CFOs who most commonly reported that they value integrity in business leaders: 46

Ranks of fairness, decisiveness, strategic mindset, transparency, and accessibility on the list of the top attributes that workers value in their leaders: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Between 2010 and 2015, percentage increase in African-American buying power ($995 billion to $1.3 trillion), according to the Packaged Facts report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition: 27

Looking ahead, projected percentage cumulative growth between 2015 and 2020: 16

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of HR managers who said their organization typically increases hiring in the fourth quarter, according to new research from OfficeTeam: 26

Of those, percentage who indicated they bring on staff at year's end to fill vacated positions: 69

Percentage who said they do so to address upticks in business: 62

Percentage who do so to add new positions: 51

Source: OfficeTeam.

For early retirees (age 62 to 66) who continue working, estimated loss in future Social Security benefits for each dollar they earn: 50 cents

From Jan. 1 in the year in which they turn 66 until their 66th birthday, amount they lose in benefits for each dollar of wages -- effectively a 33 percent tax rate: 33 cents

Source: Goodman Institute.

Idle Thought

"Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others." -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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

Percentage of respondents who hid a purchase, bank account statement, bill or cash from their partner or spouse, according to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the National Endowment for Financial Education: 39

Percentage who said they had discussed finances with their spouse/partner and they knew he/she would disapprove: 30

Percentage who were embarrassed/fearful about their finances and didn't want their spouse/partner to find out: 25

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of non-retired Americans who plan to work as long as possible during retirement, according to a Bankrate.com report: 70

Percentage who say they have no plans to work during retirement: 25

Of those who plan to work as long as possible during retirement, percentage who are planning to work because they like to work: 38

Percentage who plan to work because they need the money: 35

Source: Bankrate.com.

Amount that American women earn on the dollar compared with men, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly wages that includes full- and part-time workers: 83 cents

Among workers ages 25 to 34, amount women earn on the dollar compared with men: 91 cents

Estimated amount more that college graduates ages 25 to 34 working full time in 2015 earned annually than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma: $20,000

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

Percentage of respondents who believe that "aliens exist and they live in our midst disguised as humans," according to a Reuters poll of 23,000 adults in 22 countries: 20

Percentage of respondents living in China and India who reported positive responses to that statement: 40

Percentage of Belgians, Swedes and Dutch who reported positive responses: 8

Source: Reuters.

Estimated percentage of family caregivers (one who takes care of a family member or friend, but is unpaid for their services) who spend $5,000 or more per year on caregiving expenses, according to a Caring.com report: 40

Ranks of food and clothing, transportation, and medications and other medical costs on the list of the most common out-of-pocket expenses for family caregivers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Care.com.

In the United States, estimated number of workers using illegal drugs, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and reported by Convergex: 17 million

Average expenditure on illegal drugs per person each year for the entire U.S. population, according to the RAND Drug Policy Research Center for the U.S. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: $300

Source: Convergex.

Percentage of the roughly 30 international ambassadors polled who named trade and investment, international security, terrorism and international rule of law as the issues most important in the context of their country's relationship with the United States, according to The Ipsos Poll conducted for The Hill and Washington Diplomat: 90

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe children should receive an allowance for completing chores, according to the Country Financial Security Index: 68

Of the people currently providing kids with an allowance, percentage who do so to teach their children money needs to be earned: 54

Percentage who wanted to teach their kids the value of money: 22

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of workers who consider non-traditional job titles such as "chief happiness officer" unprofessional, according to the WorkSphere survey from Spherion Staffing: 25

Percentage who agreed that these more creative billings don't accurately capture what their job entails: 23

Source: Spherion.

Percentage of C-suite-level business leaders in the United States and United Kingdom who report that it is important for their organizations to achieve an increased level of digitization over the next five years, according to a white paper and survey report from North Highland: 83

Ranks of reducing costs, streamlining work and satisfying or engaging customers on the list of the three primary business goals driven by digitization: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of respondents who state that their IT department is primarily responsible for executing digitization: 67

Source: North Highland.

Idle Thought

"Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense." -- Leo Rosten

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

Average reading grade level at which most credit card agreements are written, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 11th

Approximate percentage of consumers who read at a ninth-grade level or below: 50

Average number of words in a credit card agreement, which takes a typical adult about 20 minutes to read: 4,900

Percentage of credit card holders who "never" or "hardly ever" read the legal agreements that come with their cards: 46

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of employees who have applied to between three and nine jobs in the last six months, according to Nielsen's Home Entertainment Consumer Trends report: 29

Percentage of employees who feel every job is temporary: 43

Percentage of employees who feel changing jobs will increase compensation: 57

Source: ManpowerGroup.

Date that a Domino's franchise in Auckland, New Zealand, delivered a pizza via drone, according to research by YouGov: Aug. 25, 2016

According to a poll from YouGov, percentage of Americans aged 18 and older who think drones are capable of delivering pizza without a hitch: 35

More specifically, percentage of people who trust that a drone will actually let go of the food when it's supposed to: 32

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of Americans who voted for the same person as their partner in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, according to an Ipsos survey: 64

This year, percentage of independents who believe they will vote for the same person as their partner: 56

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe income from investments should be taxed at least as much as wages, according to the 2016 Tax Fairness Survey by WalletHub: 90

Percentage of respondents who view tax fairness as more important than whatever is best for the economy (22.6 percent) and tax equality (20.6 percent): 56.7

Ranks of taxes on wages and corporations on the list of the least fair taxes: 1, 2

Ranks of taxes on alcohol and tobacco on the list of the most fair taxes: 1, 2

Source: WalletHub.

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

When looking for a culprit, percentage of employers who say that workers' mobile phones/texting are to blame: 55

Percentage of workers who have smartphones: 83

Percentage of those with smartphones who keep them within eye contact at work: 82

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who say they turn off lights, televisions or other appliances when not in use in order to improve energy efficiency at home, according to results of a Harris Poll: 75

Percentage of Americans who are replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs: 50

Percentage who are looking for the Energy Star label when replacing appliances: 47

Percentage who are using low-watt bulbs where lighting isn't critical: 46

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of total expenditures on course textbooks nationwide that goes toward print materials, according to data from Nielsen's U.S. Student Attitudes Towards Content in Higher Education report: 69

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of people who say they buy or rent their home media content both physically and digitally, according to Nielsen's Home Entertainment Consumer Trends report: 41

Even though Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy five years ago, percentage of people who said they still buy or rent only physical discs: 20

Source: Nielsen Online.

Rank of road accidents on the list of the most prolific killers of tourists, even in countries that suffer from terrorism or violence, according to research by the Global Wellness Institute: 1

For the United States, number of times more that the domestic homicide rate exceeds the rate of Americans killed while traveling abroad for tourism purposes (last year, 4 per 100,000 vs. 0.2 per 100,000): 20

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Idle Thought

"Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong." -- Leo Buscaglia

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