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For decades, adults have increasingly avoided the idea of getting married.
While more and more people are cohabiting, that hasn’t been enough to offset the steady decline in marriage, leaving more people uncoupled overall, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of the latest census data.
Today, a record number of adults between the ages of 25 and 54 are single, Pew found.
In 2019, around 38% of those aged 25 to 54 were neither married nor in a relationship, up from 29% in 1990.
However, single adults are worse off financially, Pew also said.
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“The partnership appears to have some advantages,” said Richard Fry, senior researcher at Pew.
Whether better economic circumstances make someone more desirable as a potential partner or because being in a relationship has a positive influence on career prospects, “better job outcomes are associated with having a partner “said Fry.
Single adults are less likely to have a bachelor’s degree and less likely to have a job than their counterparts in couples, Pew found.
“In 2019, less than three-quarters of single men were employed compared to 91% of men in relationships,” Fry said. “It’s a glaring difference.” (By comparison, single women are also less likely to have a college degree, but slightly more likely to be employed.)
As a result, single adults earn less, on average, than adults in a couple and are more likely to live with their parents. (In 2020, the number of adults returning home temporarily increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has since declined.)
Men with a partner earn $ 57,000 in median earnings in 2019, compared to $ 35,600 for single men.
For women, the difference is smaller but persistent, with couples earning $ 40,000 in median income compared to $ 32,000 for singles.
In addition, the economic success gap is only widening over time. “This trend has been happening steadily for 30 years,” Fry said. “I have no reason to believe he has peaked.”
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