Marriage Rate for Women Dips Below 10% for First Time
WASHINGTON — The marriage rate for eligible young women has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded, new government statistics disclosed today.
The marriage rate for single women aged 15 to 44 was 99.3 weddings per 1,000 women in 1983, the first time that measure has dipped below the 100 level, according to the report from the National Center for Health Statistics.
The report, the most recent complete marriage statistics available, showed a decline in total marriages from the record level of 1982. There were 2,445,604 marriages reported for 1983, down 10,674 from the year before.
The total number of marriages in the United States has managed to maintain high levels in recent years despite declining marriage rates, because the maturing of the huge post-World War II Baby Boom generation increased the number of people in the most common marriage ages.
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