Most Americans Are Single, and They're Changing the Economy

If you are an American, odds are you’re single. According to a new report from economist Edward Yardeni, more than half of Americans aren’t married, up from 37 percent in 1976. He reckons a nation of singletons will change the structure of the economy because it means fewer parents and homeowners. Whether this is good or bad depends: Single people can be more flexible, which means fewer economic distortions and a more dynamic labor market, but it might make the economy as a whole riskier.

For Yardeni’s purposes, anyone unmarried counts as single. But the potential economic benefits of singleness only confer to a specific type of single: someone who lives alone. Some married people live alone; many unmarried people live with their partners or children. A large share of the increase in singleness comes from more people living alone, but it’s also become more common for unmarried partners to live together.