Your job affects your marriage chances, report suggests

Different jobs affect people’s chances of being married or divorced, according to a new analysis of census data by the magazine Businessweek.

The publication analysed data from the US census, most recently taken in 2010, comparing marriage and divorce rates across different occupations since 1950. According to their findings dentists were the profession most likely to be married in 2010, followed by chief executives and sales engineers. Numbers 4, 5 and 6 on the list were all medical in nature – physicians, podiatrists and optometrists. Medical professions traditionally provide steady employment and good rates of pay.

Previously, bartenders were the profession most likely to be divorced, ranking at number one for three whole decades, in the 1970, 1980 and 1990 censuses.

The current list of professions most likely to be divorced, meanwhile, is dominated by manual workers, who have borne the brunt of economic decline in western countries. The profession most likely to be divorced in 2010 were paper-hangers (people who hang wallpaper), followed by drilling machine operators, textile operators and forge operators. Number five on the list went to mail handlers – people who process letters and parcels for the United States Postal Service. There was also a medical presence on this list: nurses at number seven.

For a historical breakdown of the results, click here.