Single Americans make up more than half of adult population

[Velar Fricative]

www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/single-americans-now-comprise-more-than-half-the-u-s-population.html

Single Americans make up more than half of the adult population for the first time since the government began compiling such statistics in 1976.



Some 124.6 million Americans were single in August, 50.2 percent of those who were 16 years or older, according to data used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly job-market report. That percentage had been hovering just below 50 percent since about the beginning of 2013 before edging above it in July and August. In 1976, it was 37.4 percent and has been trending upward since.



In a report to clients entitled “Selfies,” economist Edward Yardeni flagged the increase in the proportion of singles to more than 50 percent, calling it “remarkable.” The president of Yardeni Research Inc. in New York said the rise has “implications for our economy, society and politics.”


Singles, particularly younger ones, are more likely to rent than to own their dwellings. Never-married young singles are less likely to have children and previously married older ones, many of whom have adult children, are unlikely to have young kids, Yardeni wrote. That will influence how much money they spend and what they buy.

He argued the increase in single-person households also is exaggerating income inequality in the U.S.



“While they have less household earnings than married people, they also have fewer expenses, especially if there are no children in their households,” Yardeni wrote.



The percentage of adult Americans who have never married has risen to 30.4 percent from 22.1 percent in 1976, while the proportion that are divorced, separated or widowed increased to 19.8 percent from 15.3 percent, according to the economist.



Yardeni is known in the financial markets for coining the phrase “bond vigilantes” in the 1980s to describe investors who were selling Treasury securities because of fears about big U.S. budget deficits.

[PinkSquirrel]

Sept 10, 2014 10:43:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

How is a 16 year old being counted in something for the "adult population?"

That's what I was trying to figure out earlier.   

[mysterons]

This makes me okay with the fact that my house only has a single-car garage.

Signed,
Single person

[Vespasia]

Sept 10, 2014 10:43:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

How is a 16 year old being counted in something for the "adult population?"

Is that the age people can marry in most states with parental consent?

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 10, 2014 10:43:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

How is a 16 year old being counted in something for the "adult population?"

I'm wondering if it's because they can legally be married? But I don't know about the age minimums in every state.

ETA: Jinx Vespasia

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2014 11:08:23 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

yeah, but that doesn't make them a part of the adult population, does it? If a 15 year old gets pregnant and now she has say over the medical decisions of someone else, is she suddenly an adult for all other purposes?

My thought was when they started the statistics 16 was much more common, so it seemed a good measure and now we stick with that age to keep the comparison the same.

Yeah, I was talking to a fellow mom, she's a teen mom, at our daycare and she was excited that next Spring she gets to vote for the first time.  So, I'm guessing no added adult privileges for teen moms, but all the adult responsibilities.

I just think this is good for understanding demographics.  If I remember correctly most of the EU (or western Europe) passed this mark about 4 years ago, right?  I think a lot of politicians took it as a breaking point and more conservative politicians called for tax breaks and fee breaks for married couples to promote marriage and more liberal politicians talked about tax cuts for unmarried households since it does cost more per person to run a household with one person vs. spreading the costs over multiple people.  I wonder how that shook out.  

[LoveTrains]

Sept 10, 2014 10:48:13 GMT -5 mysterons said:

This makes me okay with the fact that my house only has a single-car garage.

Signed,
Single person

The vast majority of houses in my neighborhood have single car garages.

Signed,
resident of a city founded in the 17th century

[heyjude]

See? Gay marriage is ruining traditional marriage!!!!

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 10, 2014 11:08:23 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

yeah, but that doesn't make them a part of the adult population, does it? If a 15 year old gets pregnant and now she has say over the medical decisions of someone else, is she suddenly an adult for all other purposes?

My thought was when they started the statistics 16 was much more common, so it seemed a good measure and now we stick with that age to keep the comparison the same.

But I think they're just taking into consideration the population that has the choice whether to marry or not, regardless of whether they are legal "adults" or not. It makes sense to take the number of Americans eligible for marriage and calculate from there.

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 10, 2014 12:05:09 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Sept 10, 2014 10:48:13 GMT -5 mysterons said:

This makes me okay with the fact that my house only has a single-car garage.

Signed,
Single person

The vast majority of houses in my neighborhood have single car garages.

Signed,
resident of a city founded in the 17th century

Yeah, double garages are things I rarely see (or maybe I just don't notice) in a lot of suburbs here.

This is one of many things that makes me watch HGTV and wonder why house hunters are so adamant about certain features that I just don't see around here.

[wise_rita]

Are they counting cohabitants?

Unmarried =/= single