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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Jobs Recovery Favors Single, Younger Workers

Why the jobs recovery favors single workers, By Annalyn Censky, August 15, 2012, CNN Money: “As the economy slowly recovers, single people are finding jobs much faster than their married peers. Single men and women lost about 5 million jobs during the financial crisis, and have since gained back 90% of them, according to the Labor Department. That’s not too shabby, especially considering the jobs recovery has been so slow. But married people, who make up a slightly larger part of the adult population, lost even more jobs and have gained far fewer back. Of the 6 million jobs they lost, they’ve recouped only about 22%. Could employers be favoring single workers? That’s unlikely, economists say. The real story probably lies in other demographic factors. . .”