On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Divorce on Tuesday, July 9, 2013.
You can’t have a divorce without marriage. So it is interesting to see what the marriage trends are. In the United States, the marriage rate is at a low point.
Worse, the number of marriages across the U.S. fell more than 5% during the recession. But a new analysis projects that pent-up demand and the large population of marriage-eligible couples, means the marriage rate may start to increase. The article can be read in USA Today.
Projections from the private company Demographic Intelligence of Charlottesville, Va., says a 4% increase in the number of weddings since 2009 is predicted depending on the economic recovery. They also expect this trend to continue through 2015.
A closer inspection of the marriage rate reveals that it differs among socio-economic groups and by education levels. Rates decline among those with a high school education or less, younger Americans, and the less affluent. However, among women ages 25-34, the college-educated and the affluent, the numbers are increasing.
“Declines in weddings are likely to set in towards the end of the decade, even though the number of young adults is increasing, because of the nation’s ongoing retreat from marriage,” the report notes.
From 2007 to 2009, the number of marriages each year fell The new forecast predicts the marriage rate to remain at the record low of 6.8 marriages per 1,000 population for 2013 (where it’s been since 2009).
This projected increase in weddings may mark a turnaround, but it’s not going to boost the low marriage rate, experts say.