AP Style - percent

AP has made a major overhaul of its style for the word "percent." The long tradition of repeating the word after every figure has been dropped and replaced.

The printed 2007 stylebook dropped the guidance on repeating "percent," but it did not provide a substitute for that part of the entry. It has now done so online, and the hyphenated form, without repeating "percent," is the new standard. Here is the entry (with new material highlighted):

Percent: One word. It takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction: The teacher said 60 percent was a failing grade. He said 50 percent of the membership was there.

It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction: He said 50 percent of the members were there.

Use figures for percent and percentages: 1 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions), 10 percent, 4 percentage points.

For a range, 12 to 15 percent, or between 12 and 15 percent. [Updated April 22, 2008, to reflect AP's use, now, of the "to."]

For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living rose 0.6 percent.

However, as noted in an "ask the editor" entry, be careful with this style because you can imply ranges that are not there. The example used was market share jumping from 16 percent to 25 percent, not 16-25 percent.

AP also has decided to drop the "to" in ranges and use the hyphen instead: 20-30 people. [As of April 2008, there is no indication that has changed, based on several "Ask the Editor" entries.] However, "million" and "billion" are still repeated to prevent confusion: $12 million to $14 million, not $12-14 million or $12 to $14 million. (I could easily see the hyphenated form coming to be accepted, however, given AP's new guidance on ranges.)

(Note that if you are updating your percentage entry in the current printed stylebook, you also need to update the "punctuation and usage examples" under "numerals." This change apparently dates internally to early 2007, but the new language in the stylebook specifying the hyphen "to" is rather recent and online only. I've never seen a formal announcement.)