More Americans than ever before have never married

According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults who have never been married currently is at a record high, a fact that is both good and bad news for jewelers.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

New York--According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults who have never been married currently is at a record high, a fact that is both good and bad news for jewelers.

In 2012, one in five adults, or 20 percent, ages 25 and older had never been married, compared with only about one in 10 adults, or 10 percent, in that age range who had never been married in 1960. That is the negative news for jewelers, who depend on soon-to-be-wed couples buying engagement rings and wedding bands for a large percentage of their sales.

According to Pew, the dramatic rise in the share of never-married adults and the growing gap between the percentages of never-married men versus never-married women can be attributed to a number of factors.

For one, adults are marrying later in life--a factor that could benefit the jewelry industry given that an older marrying age likely means the ability to spend more on bridal jewelry. The median age at first marriage is now 27 for women and 29 for men, a dramatic climb from the 1960 averages of 20 and 23, respectively.

The second reason for more singles in America is that the number of adults who are cohabitating and raising children outside of marriage has increased significantly. About one-fourth of never-married young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are living with a partner, according to the study.

Pew also said that shifting public attitudes about marriage in general, hard economic times and changing demographic patterns also might be contributing to the rising amount of never-married adults.

The study found that about half of all never-married adults (53 percent) said that they would like to marry eventually; this is down somewhat from 2010, when the share was at 61 percent. Meanwhile, 45 percent of today’s never-married adults say they aren’t sure if they’d like to get married (32 percent) or and flat-out do not want to get married (13 percent.)

Pew’s numbers also find that a rising share of today’s young adults might end up not getting married at all.

According to the data, when that generation reaches their mid-40s to mid-50s, a record amount (25 percent) is likely to have never been married. Pew said that since 1970, there has been a steady increase in the share of 25- to-34-year-olds that remain

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never married when they reach ages 45 to 54.

Other notable findings from the study include the following.
--The American public is divided about the role that marriage plays in society. Forty-six percent of adults surveyed said that society is better off if people make marriage and having kids a priority while 50 percent said society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.
--Despite these views, nearly 68 percent of Americans still believe that it’s important for couples to marry if they plan on spending the rest of their lives together.
--Among those that haven’t yet gotten married but say that they would like to, three in 10 say they haven’t gotten married because they haven’t found anyone who has what they’re looking for in a spouse, 27 percent said they aren’t financially prepared for marriage, and 22 percent said they’re too young or not ready to settle down.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.