NOTEWORTHY.

• Position: Face mask at work, house prices, and cyber attacks

"Only 39% of employers are requiring their workers to mask up when on the job, and just 20% of companies are requiring their employees to get COVID vaccines," says Rob Wilson, president of Employco USA. "Although many industries have issued vaccine mandates or considered doing so, the reality is that most mid-size and small companies just aren't ready to go that route. With workers so hard to come by, many employers are worried about frightening away talent."

Bad news for potential homebuyers in the U.S.: the average price for single-family homes has increased by 12.4% in the last year. The folks at Move.org dug into the data to discover that Idaho's single-family home prices increased the most--27.8% year over year. Just three states saw jumps of less than five percent: Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Single-family homes in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California increased by nearly 15%.

Here are the top 10 states that are spending more at retail and service businesses--since the onset of the Delta variant--in terms of their percent increase, according to TOP Data's COVID Impact Study: New Jersey (11.69%), Delaware (7.47%), Rhode Island (4.49%), Massachusetts (4.43%), Colorado (4.04%), Oregon (3.75%), Montana (3.48%), New York (3.27%), Maryland (3.01%), and Michigan (2.40%). States spending less include Louisiana (-17.48%), Nevada (-7.58%), South Dakota (-5.58%), Alabama (-5.55%), Vermont (-5.53%), Maine (-5.52%), North Dakota (-5.41%), Georgia (-5.09%), Tennessee (-4.99%), and West Virginia (-4.60%).

A record $4,200,000,000 was lost to cybercriminals in the last year, up from $3,500,000,-000 in the 12 months previous to that. CCTV Camera World's State of Cybercrime in America study, based on FBI data, reveals the five states where victims lost the most: North Dakota ($33,954), Missouri ($14,025), Ohio ($12,680), New York ($12,051), and Utah ($9,564). The most financially...