Opinion: 31% of Americans don't use all their vacation

Percentage of U.S. office supply customers who agree that a clean break room is directly related to the success of a business, according to a survey by Quill Corp.: 57.

Percentage of respondents who say the “dirtiest” part of the break room is inside the refrigerator: 34.

Percentage who say it’s inside the microwave: 27.

Legal employment hurdles

Average number of times candidates for employment in a law firm are interviewed before being extended an employment offer, according to a survey developed by Robert Half Legal: 4.

Percentage of job seekers who lose outto their competition for having little or no knowledge of the company or firm: 37.

Percentage of job seekers who lose out to their competition because of uncertainty of career plans: 24.

Percentage who lose because of limited enthusiasm: 16.

Engineering success

Average starting salary for a chemical engineer, ranked as the highest-paying college major in the United States, according to a survey by the National Association of College & Employers: $53,813.

Average starting salary for a computer engineer, ranked as the second-highest-paying major in the U.S.: $52,464.

Average starting salary for an electrical engineer, ranked as the third-highest-paying major in the U.S.: $51,888.

No vacation

Number of vacation days that will go unused this year in the U.S., according to data from Expedia: 421 million.

Percentage of Americans who will not use all of their vacation: 31.

Number of days the average worker will leave on the table: 3.

Great expectations

Percentage of employees who say knowing what’s expected of them is among the things they like most about their job, according to a survey by Sirota Survey Intelligence: 83.

Percentage who say the competence of their immediate supervisors is among the things they like most about their job: 78.

Percentage who say it is the type of work they do: 76.

Snoozing

Percentage of Americans who say they have missed a family obligation because they’ve overslept, according to a Harris Interactive survey for Tylenol PM: 20.

Percentage who have missed a class or meeting: 15.

Percentage who have missed a test: 8.

Out of gas

Percentage of American adults who say the increase in the price of gasoline will cause serious financial hardship for them and their families over the next six months, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs: 37.

Percentage who say it will not cause a serious hardship: 26.

Education pays

Percentage of students finishing Masters of Business Administration degrees this year who had job offers by mid-March, the highest figure since 2001, according to a survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council: 50.

Percentage who had job offers at the same point in 2001: 64.

Percentage who had job offers at the same point in 2004: 42.

John MacIntyre is an author and former city magazine editor. His Figuratively Speaking column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.