Marrying Women
Jane Austen's 19th-century characters took it for granted that men with money made more eligible mates. A new study from the Pew Research Center, a think-tank, finds that little has changed. Fully 78% of American women who have never been married say it is very important that their future spouse has a steady job.
Wrenching changes in the labour market, combined with these 1._____ preferences, have shaken up the marriage market. Women are much more likely to have jobs than half a century ago; men, somewhat less so. Women today find it much easier to cope without a male breadwinner. At the same time, many find the pool of potential husbands less appealing.
In 1960, young, never-married women were spoilt for choice. For every hundred of them aged 25–34, there were 139 young, never-married men vying for their 2._____. In 2012 there were just 91. For some groups, the gap is much bigger. Young never-married black women outnumber young never-married black men with jobs by a startling two-to-one. This helps explain why, although African-Americans are more likely than other races to say they 3._____ marriage, only 26% of black women are actually married, compared with 51% of whites.
The raw ratio of bachelors to bachelorettes varies with age. There are 118 unmarried 25-year-old men for every 100 single women, 4._____ women are more likely to marry older partners. Around the age of 40, the ratio is roughly even. From then on, the surplus of men turns into a deficit: by the age of 64, there are only 62 unmarried men, with or without jobs, for every 100 unmarried women.
Pew predicts that, by 2030, 28% of American men – and 23% of women – will never have tied the knot. For men without much education, the picture is particularly grim. Among young American adults with a high school certificate or 5._____, there are 174 never-married men for every 100 never-married women. The difference largely reflects the difficulty poorly-educated men have finding work.
The Economist