WORKPLACE
32%
Average increase in number of job cuts between Labor Day and year's end
4.6%
U.S. unemployment rate in July, as measured by the Department of Labor
PLAGUES
240%
Increase in bedbug work performed by California's Western Extermination Co. between 2000 and 2006. Single-family homes and schools are among those now reporting infestation
50
Average number of bedbug-related phone calls received each week by U.S. pest-control companies, according to the National Pest Management Association
EDUCATION
205,983
Number of Americans who studied at foreign universities in 2006--an increase of 150% from 10 years ago
15
Number of students a U.S. college...
