Single men ‘significantly’ poorer amid collapse in marriage rates

[SerendipityJane]

Grist for the incel mill.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/10/single-men-significantly-poorer-amid-collapse-marriage-rate/

Single young men earn £5,000 less each year than those in a stable relationship, research has found, as Britain suffers a collapse in marriage rates.

Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that an average 16 to 24-year-old man was “significantly better off” if he was married, cohabiting or in a relationship.

It comes after research by the think tank revealed that the gender pay gap has reversed, with the wages of young women now consistently being paid more than young men for the first time

It's almost like women's unremunerated labour was always propping up their husbands' ability to show up and earn money and that the labour market was designed for men with a support human at home. Funny that.

Presumably it's an 'A and B caused by C' sort of situation? Young men with, say, mental health difficulties are less likely to have a relationship or a good job.

The incel mill as you call it is our children - I'm not sure I'm celebrating the real difficulties that young men have in today's society, but you carry on.

It's 16-24. I would assume that the extra earnings for married young man come from them pushing themselves towards higher earnings to help secure the family unit. Extra motivation? I don't know many under 24 who are married tbh. The ones I know are because they had kids. But that's anecdotal.

Women are now also encouraged much more towards better earning careers and financial independence so good to see they are finally allowed to show their capability!

You will have to point out where I was "celebrating" in case any other posters missed it.

Also good spouse can make wonders. I know. I wouldn't change mine for nothong. He gives me good self esteem push

It may well be that those young men in relationships are more personable and more likely to land a girlfriend AND a good job.

Do agree with @TyneFilth though that men get a boost by having a support human.

It's inferred by your opening statement. You're not addressing the headline critically you're inferring that some young men will use it as evidence for their dislike of women.

I do wonder why hating men is so much better than the incels hating women.

The ones who are settled with wife and kids will be motivated to work harder and earn more Vs a single man who doesn't need to support a family.

A pretty self selecting study

Do you have a single son is this position? What's your take on his marriage prospects/lack of? Do you think he's worse off from being single? Is he involuntarily single? Very curious to get your perspective as a parent of a young mam like this (I only have sisters and no sons).

@TyneFilth nailed it.

I'd be doing great in my career if I had someone to clean my house, do all my laundry, cook all my meals, food shopping, all the childcare and drop-offs and pick ups (while also working full time to bring in an equivalent wage so that we can actually survive). If it were just me I think I'd be on almost double what I'm on now.

My 16 yr old son is still at school and no immediate plans to marry. Same with most of his friends. I'm not unduly concerned. What a weird survey age range.

Oh man can you imagine what this would be like?
Book all the kids appointments and take them there?
I'd be an amazing husband as well. Would cook once a week and take the kids swimming.

I think a lot of those difficulties could be addressed with greater realism and less sense of entitlement on the part of young men and the people who raise them.

Does this mean men should stay at home and look after the kids now? It would make sense if women are the higher earners.

Thanks for this.

OP, it sems that an inability to draw a logical conclusion from the information given does contribute to promoting conflict, as shown here.

I'd be interested in reading the actual study to see how they took into account factors that might influence BOTH earnings and having a long- term relationship, before age 25.

I have a single 20 yr old son. He has just had a masters offer from Cambridge and a job offer of £60 k a year. He has worked like a demon since he was 14 with top grades throughout.
He cooks, cleans and does his own laundry.
He's not thinking about girls or marriage. He has bigger goals.

It seems an odd age group to pick. If they wanted to assess the impact of marriage on earnings, surely they would be better off looking at men aged 30+?

Men in a stable relationship may work longer hours than single men hence earn more per year.

Men in a stable relationship may take work more seriously so more likely to be promoted.

What percentage of 16-24 year olds get married anyway?

I think that the incel comment means that incels will feel more pressure to be in a relationship so they earn more and resentful of all the women who won’t be with them.

Yes I would be horrified if.my son wanted to get married before 30.

I was once told many years ago that one of the reasons that men in relationships were picked over those that were single was because they where more reliable, more likely to want to impress the company and would generally be around longer.
Less likely to go out on the piss and no be able to turn up for work the next day etc.
This included those men that where looking for apprenticeships and graduate schemes.
I doubt that this has changed very much.

What does stable relationship look like in a 16 year old ? I don’t know anyone who would be encouraging that tbh.

Dh was married at 24. It did mean that he didn't go and do another masters and felt pressure to earn more as we wanted to buy a flat in London. I am now pregnant with our first and only child and he is 35 this year.

This. There's plenty of 16-18 years olds who firstly aren't interested in a relationship and secondly are in full time education and therefore aren't earning at all. Agree it's a strange range to study. The different in life stage between a 16yo and a 24 is vast. A 24 yo is way more likely to be both employed and in a relationship. If you compare them to teenagers it's not exactly valid.

Similar to why men’s car insurance goes down when they get married.