Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who will celebrate Father's Day, according to a study by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Analytics: 75

Percentage who will celebrate it virtually: 58

Source: NRF.

While Americans consistently rank health care as the nation's top concern, percentage who designate the cost of accessing treatment among the biggest problems facing the health care system, according to a survey by Ipsos: 64

Rank of bureaucracy, access to treatment/long waiting lines, lack of investment in preventative health and poor-quality treatment on the list of the biggest problems facing the health care system: 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of Americans who agree that many people in the U.S. cannot afford good health care, compared to an average of 59% of men and women globally: 75

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of children under the age of 15 who live in married-couple families and have a stay-at-home mother, compared to only 1% who have a stay-at-home father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 27

Percentage of young adults ages 18 to 24 who live in the parental home, compared to 16% of young adults ages 25 to 34: 54

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of how-to videos and product reviews on the list of the most popular subjects of online videos, according to a survey by YouGov: 1, 2

Percentage of consumers who said they "often" or "almost always" search for a product online or offline after seeing it on a vlog: 44

Source: YouGov.

Average projected age at which Americans expect to be free of credit card debt, according to a study from CreditCards.com: 53

Percentage who believe that paying substantially more than the minimum monthly payment is the best strategy to mitigate debt: 69

Percentage who said they would take advantage of a balance transfer card: 15

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of women across all experience levels and across all ethnic/racial groups who say the No. 1 incentive to take risks is the opportunity to make more money, according to a study of professional women by KPMG LLP: 40

Percentage who say they're confident about asking for a higher salary: 35

Source: KPMG LLP.

Percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who believe that the U.S. government or banks should forgive the $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to a survey for Junior Achievement: 51

Percentage who said student loan debt should not be forgiven: 20

Percentage who said they "Don't Know" or are "Not Sure": 29

Source: Junior Achievement.

Percentage of employees who believe their value at a company is reflected by the gifts they receive, according to a Snappy Gifts survey: 45

Of those who have received an employer gift, percentage who have regifted or thrown it out: 40

Percentage of respondents who would rather provide input into the corporate gift they receive: 70

Source: Snappy.

Projected overall spending for Fathers' Day, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey: $17 billion

Average expected spending per papa: $148.15

Source: NRF.

Idle Thought

"Truth never damages a cause that is just." -- Mohandas Gandhi

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

Percentage of people who feel bike riding helps to relieve stress/anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Trek Bicycle survey: 63

Percentage of Americans who own a bike who turn to bike riding for mental health and/or to destress: 27

Source: Trek Bicycle Corp.

Percentage of Americans who say they are using or intend to use telemedicine during the pandemic, according to a study by HealthInsurance.com: 47

Percentage who said they have received correspondence from their doctor or health insurance company about telemedicine services: 33

Percentage who were not aware you can just purchase a telemedicine plan: 85

Source: HealthInsurance.com.

While 81% of parents believe teachers need more training in online teaching, percentage who feel that their child's teacher has done a good job teaching and supporting students during this time, according to the results of research by Pearson and Connections Academy: 88

Percentage of parents who say closing schools was the right call: 94

Percentage who believe schools need to be better prepared to switch to virtual learning programs: 91

Source: Pearson.

According to the 2020 SKYN Sex and Intimacy survey, percentage of male respondents who learn about sex from pornography: 67

Source: 2020 SKYN.

Percentage of Americans who are now recycling multiple times a week, according to research commissioned by ecoATM Gazelle: 59

Percentage who say the pandemic has inspired them to waste less food: 31

Source: ecoATM Gazelle.

With controlling fixed costs, such as payroll, a critical consideration amid economic decline, percentage of companies that have either decreased or frozen salaries, according to a survey from executive compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer: 16

Percentage who have done so for hourly employees: 7

Percentage of companies who have reduced or eliminated employer contributions or matches to their retirement plan: 6

Source: Pearl Meyer and Partners.

Percentage of Americans who say they are less likely to take a cruise once the pandemic is over, according to a survey by ValuePenguin.com: 55

Percentage who are more fearful of overseas travel: 52

Percentage of Americans who are planning a celebratory trip once the threat of the coronavirus disappears, with the highest percentages among millennials, Gen Xers, parents of children under 18 and six-figure earners: 25

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Estimated number of Americans who are spending more money while social distancing, according to a WalletHub survey: 58 million

Percentage who have participated in "comfort buying" due to social isolation: 43

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about job loss as a result of the pandemic, according to a survey by KPMG LLP: 57

Percentage who are worried about the future of their industry: 56

Percentage who expressed concern about technology replacing their jobs: 44

Source: KPMG LLP.

Idle Thought

"He serves his party best who serves the country best." -- Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th U.S. president (1822-1893)

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

Percentage of Americans who had upcoming travel plans who lost money on nonrefundable deposits and cancellation fees, averaging $854.30 per person, according to a survey by ValuePenguin.com: 46

Percentage of the lost costs that came from airline tickets: 59

Percentage that came from hotel rooms: 44

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Percentage of American workers who said that their work team has effectively adapted to working together during this time, according to a survey by KPMG LLP: 82

Percentage who indicated that they had adequate resources to do their job remotely: 59

Percentage who also reported that their team is effectively using technology to communicate: 87

Source: KPMG LLP.

Percentage of students who say COVID-19 has changed their plans for summer jobs, according to a WalletHub survey: 56

Percentage of students who would rather risk COVID-19 on campus than self-isolate at their parents' house: 35

Ranks of emergency savings, having a steady job and not going into debt on the list of the most important financial lesson students have learned from the pandemic: 1, 2, 3

Source: WalletHub.

Among workers who have lost jobs during the pandemic, ranks of workers in IT (55%), finance (53%) and construction/extraction (47%) who are most likely to have started a new job, according to research by Strada Education Network: 1, 2, 3

Source: Strada Education Network.

Percentage of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who report greater anxiety in their lives, according to a survey by CHG Healthcare: 72

Percentage who fear bringing home the virus to a family member or loved one: 68

Percentage who worry they might be infected themselves: 56

Source: CHG Healthcare.

Percentage of newly remote workers who expect to continue to work remotely once shutdowns end, according to a survey of homebuyers and sellers by Redfin: 25

Percentage of respondents who would move if they never had to go into an office: 50

Source: Redfin.

Percentage of business leaders, HR experts and academics who believe their current job could be replaced by machines, according to a study titled "The Future of Work" from CareerAddict: 33

Percentage who believe that automation and AI could improve their work performance: 61

Percentage who are open to reskilling and lifelong learning: 93

Source: CareerAddict.

Percentage of Americans who know someone who has lost their health insurance during this pandemic, according to a Healthinsurance.com survey: 25

Percentage who say they don't know what their health insurance options are if they lost their health insurance: 68

Source: Healthinsurance.com.

Percentage of credit card debtors who are currently stressed about their credit card debt, according to a CreditCards.com report: 45

Ranks of paying more than the minimum (60%), balance transfer (13%) and paying only the minimum (13%) on the list of the most common credit card payoff strategies among U.S. adults with credit card debt: 1, 2, 3

Percentage who are paying nothing at all or don't have a plan: 13

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of parents who say closing schools was the right call, according to the results of research by Pearson and Connections Academy: 94

Percentage of Americans who are concerned that COVID-19 will affect or delay the start of school in the fall: 77

Percentage of parents who believe online learning will become a long-lasting requirement for their child: 88

Percentage who believe schools need to be better prepared to switch to virtual learning programs: 91

Source: Pearson.

Percentage of Americans who plan to make donations this year who will give more than last year, according to a CoinStar survey: 44

Percentage who say they will be giving the same: 39

Percentage of people who donate who say they do so because it makes them feel good: 34

Source: Coinstar.

Idle Thought

"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments or publicity." -- Thomas Wolfe, novelist

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