It’s finally happening. The improving economy is once again causing an increase in the number of couples who choose to file for divorce . After several years of declining divorce rates that had been linked to an economy in the doldrums, divorce rates are picking up again as the economy improves, and unemployment drops.
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of American couples choosing to get divorced increased for the third year in a row. In 2012, those numbers stood at approximately 2.4 million. In 2009, the divorce rate in the country was at a 40-year low. That dip was directly linked to the recession, and came after a doubling of the divorce rate between 1940 and 1981.
In an uncertain economy, people choose to put off plans for divorce even if they are in a bad marriage. That is usually due to financial reasons rather than any emotional ones. For instance, divorces can be expensive, and can mean a dramatic change in the living habits of a couple. In the case of two working partners, spouses suddenly go from two incomes to one household that has to be maintained on your own with your own income.
Besides, divorce leads to division of assets, properties, retirement funds, houses, and cars, which means more economic trouble for the parties involved, in a bad economy. Spouses who run their own business, for example, may put off divorce in a bad economy when their business is struggling.
However, things change dramatically when the economy recovers. In a good economy, people may feel more confident about handling the economic and financial changes that divorce brings.
