News

The occupations most likely to get divorced

Picture:
Picture:
Getty Images/iStockphoto

A relatively recent study analysed data from the 2015 American Community Survey, calculating the percentage of people who had divorced in each occupation.

For example, librarians have around a 28 per cent chance of divorce.

Researchers at the Institute for Family Studies looked at this study, ranking the most and least divorce-prone occupations in the United States.

People with less income were found to be less likely to be married in the first place and more likely to divorce.

Wealthier people were more likely to report happiness in their marriage, as were people who described themselves as upper class.

The Institute for Family Studies wrote:

One question that does not command enough attention is why the correlation between relationship stability and employment prospects is so strong. We suspect that employment instability, as opposed to low income per se, may be part of the explanation.

For those who are not wealthy, marriage has risks as well as benefits. In the United States, the median working-age household has approximately $5,000 in retirement savings, and more than half of Americans have less than $1,000 in the bank.

Commitment to a partner with an unstable income—someone who runs up the credit card bills, incurs large health care expenses, or needs to be bailed out of jail—can diminish family savings. 

HT Fortune

More: 11 things that make divorce more likely

The Conversation (0)
x