A growing army of single working women is changing not just the workforce, but also the retail and housing economy and the shape of American families and communities.
More unmarried women are in the workforce than ever before, according to research by Morgan Stanley using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 80% of single women are working or actively seeking employment, according to the Brookings Institution’s Lauren Bauer, and in 2018, single women made up 45% of working women.
This means single women have more spending power than they used to, and single women, it turns out, spend their money on different things than single men or married women do.
Certain industries such as clothing, footwear, personal care, food, and luxury have experienced a significant boost thanks to this economic shift. For example, Lululemon Athletica, Sephora Beauty, Starbucks, and Tesla can expect more business in the coming years, Morgan Stanley forecast.
But single women aren’t just spending money on their wants. In fact, they’re more likely to spend money on basic needs such as housing, food, and transportation — especially since their income tends to be lower than family households.
Inevitably, the rise of single working women correlates with decreasing marriage and birth rates as young adults wait until later in life to settle down. But it’s not just women. Men, too, are putting aside serious relationships to pursue bachelor’s degrees and fruitful careers.
For better or worse, millennials are reshaping the economy. As of last year, young single women contributed more than $7 trillion, according to Morgan Stanley. And if this trend continues, that number will just keep getting larger, as will its social and economic consequences.
—By Kaylee McGhee
