Unemployment

• 9.8% -- U.S. rate (September 2009)
• 10.3% -- New York City's rate (August 2009), the highest since 1993
• 6:1 -- Number of unemployed persons to every job opening (August 2009)

Older Workers

• 6.4% -- Jobless rate for 45-plus workers (March 2009), the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the number in 1948
• 57% -- Decrease in median wage of retirees who return to the work force in a different career; 22% decrease in median wage for those who are laid off and then change careers
• 25% -- Re-careerers who lost health insurance and other pension benefits
• 47% -- Projected growth of 55-plus workers between 2006 and 2016
• 70% -- Older workers who say they plan on working into their retirement
• 64% -- Older workers who cite "financial need" as their motivation to keep working
• 5.2% -- Jobless rate for managers and professionals (September 2009), up from 2.8% a year ago

Salon Business

• 72% -- Dropoff in customer spending (January 2009 poll of 600 salons)
• 150 out of 1,000 -- Number of American women who now color their hair at home, as opposed to going to a salon
• 20% -- Increase in dollar sales of a popular root touch-up product sold in drug stores