Special Report
Jobs With the Highest Divorce Rates
September 22, 2017 6:26 pm
Last Updated: January 12, 2020 7:53 am
10. Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders
> Divorce rate: 48.8%
> Total employment: 71,260
> Median annual salary: $32,510
> Majority gender representation: Male, 86.2%
Clocking in at number 10 is a mouthful. This profession has an array of duties, including setting up, operating, or tending machines that form anything from glassware, rubber, soap, brick, tile, cosmetics, and food just to name a few. Such a routine job, like many others, can become monotonous and perhaps affect one’s happiness, which can very well affect the contentment in a marriage.
9. Textile knitting and weaving machine operators
> Divorce rate: 48.9%
> Total employment: 21,550
> Median annual salary: $27,470
> Majority gender representation: Female, 92.3%
The textile industry in the United States has been in decline for decades, and this is another occupation where the longer-term employment outlook is dismal. The number of jobs of textile knitting and weaving machine operators is predicted to fall 26.2% from 27,900 in 2014 to 20,600 in 2024.
8. Telemarketers
> Divorce rate: 49.2%
> Total employment: 215,290
> Median annual salary: $24,300
> Majority gender representation: Female, 63.9%
On the cusp of 50%, telemarketers have one of the highest divorce rates at 49.2%. When telemarketers try to sell products or solicit donations, they are constantly brushed off by the people they call. This job can be terribly exhausting with all the negative responses and abuses telemarketers are subject to from the other end of the phone. According to a survey conducted by the Occupational Information Network, 81% of telemarketers said they deal with unpleasant or angry people every day. Imagine coming home day after day telling your loved one about the series of negative comments you received — sounds like a pretty gloomy dinner conversation.
7. Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
> Divorce rate: 49.6%
> Total employment: 71,960
> Median annual salary: $33,870
> Majority gender representation: Male, 84.6%
These workers set up and operate machines that cut, shape, and form metal and plastic materials or pieces. However, not many Americans will be doing this in the near future. The BLS forecasts a drop of 13%, or 133,000 jobs, from 2014 to 2024. Technology advances and cheaper foreign competition are eroding this blue-collar job stalwart, a depressing prospect for those hoping to survive the downturn.
6. Switchboard operators, including answering service
> Divorce rate: 49.7%
> Total employment: 90,910
> Median annual salary: $28,030
> Majority gender representation: Female, 84.0%
Nearly 50% of switchboard operators, the team behind the scenes of incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls, get divorced. Why? It’s hard to pinpoint a specific reason. The median salary is nearly $10,000 less than the annual median salary of all occupations at $37,040. That could be a reason for stress in a marriage, especially if there are children to support and a mortgage to pay. Another stressful factor might be that the switchboard operator is the fifth-fastest-declining job, according to BLS. The occupation number is forecast to fall 32.9% to 19,400 jobs in 2024, from 28,800 in 2014.
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