I often ask the question, why is my wife so crazy about me? Is it perhaps because of my incredible and subtle sense of humor? Perhaps it’s my smile or my phenomenal middle aged physique. As it turns out, it may simply be because I have a job. According to a Pew Research Center study released last month, solid employment represents the number 1 priority women are looking for in a husband. That doesn’t seem like such a high standard and requires no sit-ups, but the pool of eligible bachelors is shrinking nonetheless. Labor force participation among men, particularly young men, has declined substantially in recent decades.
As indicated by CNNMoney, only 82 percent of men ages 25 to 34 were in the workforce in 2012, down from 93 percent in 1960. Accordingly, 3 in 10 never-married Americans who want to settle down say that the primary reason they haven’t thus far is that they can’t find someone who has what they are looking for in a spouse, and that something if often stable employment. Not surprisingly, the share of American adults who’ve never been married is at an all-time high. According to Pew, 1 in 5 Americans age 25 or older have never tied the knot, more than double the share in 1960.
