Rank of "a unique, one-of-a-kind costume" on the list of the most popular costume styles among respondents who plan to dress up this Halloween, according to the Goodwill National Halloween Poll: 25

Ranks of funny (19 percent), scary or gory (17 percent), cute (15 percent) and sexy (14 percent) on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Goodwill Industries International.

Percentage of younger millennials (ages 18 to 27) who are stressed about money matters, according to a Bankrate.com report: 36

Ranks of relationship issues with family, romantic partners and/or friends on their list of stresses: 2, 3, 4

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of IT managers who said adequate technical skills are the most difficult thing to evaluate during a job interview, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 39

Ranks of corporate culture and soft skills on the list of the most difficult things to evaluate during a job interview: 2, 3

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of blue-collar workers who somewhat or strongly agree that "unions help the working man and woman," according to a study conducted by the Harris Poll and commissioned by Express Employment Professionals: 73

Percentage who are members of a labor union: 13

Percentage of blue-collar workers who are optimistic about the future, with more than one-third (34 percent) saying they are "very optimistic": 80

Percentage who also agree that "the harder you work, the more successful you will be": 80

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of men and women who agree that washing their hands after using the toilet is important, according to an Ipsos poll: 98

Percentage of women who say that changing their undergarments every day is crucial behavior: 88

Percentage of men who say the same: 78

Number of times per week the average American will shower: 6.4

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Projected total spending for Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation: $9 billion

Number of Americans planning to partake in Halloween festivities this year: 175 million

According to the survey, amount consumers plan to spend on costumes (purchased by 68 percent of Halloween shoppers): $3.2 billion

Percentage of pet lovers who will dress their animal in a pumpkin costume: 11

Percentage who will dress their cat or dog as a hot dog: 7

Source: NRF.

Percentage of adults who are planning a trip away from home this winter, according to a WalletHub survey: 64

Of those people who don't plan to travel this winter, percentage who say they don't feel like it: 24

Percentage who say they can't afford to travel or need to save money instead: 60

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of HR professionals who say gig workers do a higher caliber of work on their projects than less specialized full-time employees, according to a Korn/Ferry survey: 48

Percentage who say hiring gig professionals actually saves them money: 46

Percentage who say these contingent employees are easier to manage than full-time employees: 42

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Percentage of retailers who feel optimistic that they will outperform their 2017 holiday season sales this year, according to the 2018 Holiday Insights Guide by RetailMeNot: 60

Percentage who are feeling more pressure to compete with Amazon during the holiday season than at other times of the year: 86

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of first responders who feel that there would be repercussions on the job for seeking professional counseling, according to a University of Phoenix survey: 47

Among those who feel this way, percentage who believed they would receive different treatment from co-workers: 53

Source: University of Phoenix.

Idle Thought:

"To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life." -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer

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

Percentage of employees who are tired at work, increasing the risk of injuries and incidents on the job, according to a National Safety Council report: 69

Percentage of employers in the transportation industry who feel the impact of fatigue -- the highest among all safety-critical industries NSC reported on: 97

Percentage of employers in the utilities field who said it is unsafe to drive while tired, although just 66 percent of employees in that industry agreed: 95

Source: National Safety Council.

Number of self-published book titles in 2017 in the U.S., the first time cracking the million mark, according to a report from Bowker: 1,009,188

Source: Bowker.

Percentage of affluent older Americans who would rather die than live in a nursing home, according to a Nationwide Retirement Institute survey: 56

Percentage who fear becoming a burden: 47

Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of university students in the U.S. who say they don't have enough money for food, according to the report Still Hungry and Homeless in College, conducted by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab: 36

Percentage who said they have skipped meals or cut the size of their portions, with 18 percent being forced to do so on at least three occasions in the last 30 days: 25

Percentage of community college students who say they have skipped meals or eaten smaller portions to cut costs: 42

Source: Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.

Percentage of Americans who see little upside for women's workplace opportunities as a result of the increased focus on sexual harassment and assault, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 20

Percentage who say it will lead to more opportunities for women in the workplace in the long run: 28

Percentage who say it won't make much of a difference: 51

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

Ranks of New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont and Minnesota on the list of states with the highest tax burden, according to WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Alaska, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida and New Hampshire on the list of states with the lowest tax burden: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of employed Americans (including adults working both full time and part time) who are likely to have been offered strictly online training, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Axonify: 17

Percentage who have been offered classroom-based training: 15

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage growth in the world wellness market in the last two years -- from a $3.7 trillion industry in 2015 to $4.2 trillion in 2017, according to a report by the Global Wellness Institute: 12.8

Annual percentage growth in the wellness industry -- nearly twice as fast as global economic growth (3.6 percent) from 2015 to 2017: 6.4

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage increase over 2017 in expected holiday retail sales in November and December -- excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants, according the National Retail Federation: 4.3 to 4.8

Total increase this represents: $3.44 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of households with over-the-top (OTT) -- or streaming internet-based -- subscriptions that subscribe to Hulu, Amazon Prime Video or Netflix, according to research by Parks Associates: 91

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein

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

Ranks of dining out, shopping, vacations and retirement savings on the list of sacrifices parents are willing to make to help their children's dreams come true, according to a study commissioned by SunTrust Banks: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of building character, keeping them physically active, sharing the love of a sport/activity and helping their child meet new friends on the list of top reasons parents fund their youngsters' ambitions: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of American workers who believe their bosses are a major cause of stress at work and can be as harmful to employees as passive smoking, according to Quartz and data from the American Psychology Association: 75

Percentage who would not leave the job -- statistics show that employees get used to their jobs despite being unhappy: 59

Source: American Psychological Association.

Percentage of Americans who haven't had a weeklong vacation in more than a year, according to a survey by Allianz Global Assistance: 51

Percentage who say it's been more than two years: 38

Percentage of Americans who said an annual vacation was important to them: 58

Source: Allianz Global Assistance.

Percentage of Americans who say the middle class is shrinking versus expanding, according to data from Northwestern Mutual: 45

Percentage who can see a time when the middle class completely disappears: 32

Percentage of Americans who still classify themselves as middle class: 68

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Percentage of Americans who say they are personally involved in artistic activities -- including painting, photography, sewing and playing an instrument, among the most common -- according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Americans for the Arts: 47

Percentage of Americans who have attended an arts event in the past year, including the theater, a zoo or botanical garden, historic site or musical performance: 72

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Rank of "excessive device use replacing conversation and human interaction" on the list of concerns about tech use that worry speech-language pathologists, according to a survey by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: 1

Percentage who said their No. 1 piece of advice is to set reasonable parameters and model safe usage: 70

Source: ASHA.

On a great first date, percentage of women who want their date to compliment her appearance, according to a survey by Match.com: 94

Percentage who want their date to be waiting for her when she arrives: 90

Percentage who want their date to hug her: 8

Percentage who want their date to kiss her on the cheek: 71

Source: Match.com.

Percentage of American adults who are considering at least one cosmetic treatment in the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted on behalf of RealSelf: 37

Percentage who are considering nonsurgical procedures: 34

Percentage who are considering surgical ones: 24

Source: RealSelf.

Percentage of Americans who say they live within five minutes of a convenience store, according to a survey released by National Association of Convenience Stores: 64

Percentage of Americans in rural communities who say they are within 10 minutes of a convenience store: 86

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of those sexually harassed at work who said they reported it, according to a CareerBuilder Survey: 29

Of those who did report it, percentage who said the issue was resolved: 76

Percentage who said the person stopped the harassment: 29

Percentage who said the person was fired: 21

While most employees stick it out, percentage of those harassed who said they left their job because of it: 13

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"It's hard work being a person; you have to do it every single day." -- Carol Shields, "The Republic of Love"

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