One-third of small businesses to add staff by year's end

Percentage of small companies – one of the major drivers for economic recovery and job growth – that plan to add new employees any time July through December, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 32

Percentage that will hire part-time: 11

Percentage that will hire contractors or temporary workers: 6

Bad break-room behavior
Percentage of workers who said making a mess for others to clean up is the most annoying break-room behavior, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 44

Percentage who said that stealing a co-worker’s food was the most annoying: 19

Percentage who said leaving expired/spoiled food in the refrigerator: 18

Standing apart from the big guys
Percentage of small-business retailers who compete against major retailers who say customer service differentiates their business from their larger competitors, according to a survey from RatePoint Inc.: 50

Percentage of these small businesses that said marketing budgets were the No. 1 advantage large retailers have versus smaller companies: 33

Benefits to business ownership    
Percentage of small-business owners who say they enjoy the flexibility that comes with “being your own boss,” according to a survey released by Brother International: 50

Percentage who enjoy pursuing their passion: 35

Unwilling idea exchanges
Percentage of employees who have had a co-worker take credit for their idea, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 58

Percentage of employees who spoke up to let others know it was their idea: 27

Percentage who did nothing: 41

Improving office politics
Rank of office politics on the list of more than 20 potential areas where executives would most like to see improvement, based on a worldwide survey of senior executives and managers conducted by NFI Research: 1

Percentage of executives in large companies who wish for improvements in office politics: 50

Percentage of executives in small companies who want improvements in this area: 20

Busy summer days
Percentage of employers who had planned to hire seasonal workers for the summer, according to CareerBuilder’s annual summer jobs forecast: 22

Percentage of employers who had planned to hire the same amount of summer workers as last year: 15

Percentage of companies that said they would consider some of their seasonal recruits for permanent placement within their organizations when the summer ends: 57

Small shop savings?
Average amount of money that car owners can save annually by opting for their local independent repair shop versus a car dealership, according to AutoMD.com: $300

Approximate amount of money spent annually at dealership service centers: $56.7 billion

Online outreach
Percentage rise in online advertising spending in 2010, according to a report from eMarketer: 11.9

Projected spending in 2010: $61.8 billion

By 2014, estimated online ad spending, growing at an 11.9 percent compound annual rate: $96.8 billion

John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His “Figuratively Speaking” column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.[[In-content Ad]]