Few Younger Adults Read a Daily Newspaper

Transcription

1 Few Younger Adults Read a Daily Newspaper Most men and women get their news from television. The Internet is in the process of transforming the way people get their news about current events. Readership of printed newspapers is in decline, with few young adults reading a daily paper. Only 26 to 28 percent of men and women read a newspaper every day. The percentage who never read a newspaper is almost as large, at 24 to 25 percent. Among adults under age 45, those who never read a newspaper greatly outnumber those who read a paper every day. Half of women and 45 percent of men say they get most of their information about current events from television. The Internet ranks second, being the primary source of news for 31 percent of women and 30 percent of men. Among adults under age 45, the Internet is the dominant source of news, outstripping television. Men and women are equally likely to get most of their news from the Internet. Internet use differs by age (percent of people aged 18 or older who get most of their information about current events from the Internet, by sex and age, 2012) 50% 46% 45% 25% 22% 24% 8% 9% men women 0% aged 18 to 44 aged 45 to 64 aged 65 or older 36 AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN

2 At t i t u d e s Table 1.34 Frequency of Reading the Newspaper, 2012 How often do you read the newspaper every day, a few times a week, less than once a week, or never? (percent of people aged 18 or older responding by sex and age, 2012) not every day, less than every but at least once a day once a week week never Total people 26.7% 32.0% 16.5% 24.8% Total men Aged 18 to Aged 45 to Aged 65 or older Total women Aged 18 to Aged 45 to Aged 65 or older Source: Survey Documentation and Analysis, Computer-assisted Survey Methods Program, University of California, Berkeley, General Social Survey, Cumulative Data Files, Internet site calculations by New Strategist Table 1.35 Main Source of Information about Events in the News, 2012 Where do you get most of your information about current news events? (percent of people aged 18 or older responding by sex and age, 2012) television Internet newspapers radio other Total people 47.9% 30.0% 12.4% 4.7% 5.0% Total men Aged 18 to Aged 45 to Aged 65 or older Total women Aged 18 to Aged 45 to Aged 65 or older Source: Survey Documentation and Analysis, Computer-assisted Survey Methods Program, University of California, Berkeley, General Social Survey, Cumulative Data Files, Internet site calculations by New Strategist AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN 37

3 Ed u c at i o n CHAPTER 2 Education Men and women are better educated. Between 1950 and 2012, the proportion of men and women with a high school diploma climbed from about one-third to nearly 90 percent. The proportion with a college degree rose from the single digits to 31 percent. There are differences in educational attainment by generation. Among men, boomers aged 60 to 64 are most likely to be college graduates. Among women, those under age 40 are most likely to have a bachelor s degree. Asian men and women are better educated than others. Hispanic men and women are the least educated. The majority of college students are female. Women account for the 55 percent majority of college students, but male college enrollment has grown faster than female since More than one-third of college students are minorities. Blacks are the largest minority among female students, Hispanics among male. Women earn most college degrees. Men account for most degrees in a number of fields including computer science and engineering. AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN 47

4 Educational Attainment Has Soared Men and women are much more likely to be high school or college graduates today than even a few decades ago. The educational attainment of Americans has increased over the decades as boomers and younger generations replaced older, less-educated adults. In 1950, barely one-third of men and women had graduated from high school. By 2012, nearly nine out of 10 were high school graduates. The proportion of people aged 25 or older with a college degree has also climbed sharply. In 1950, just 5 and 7 percent of women and men, respectively, were college graduates. By 2012, the figure had reached 31 percent among both men and women. The gap in the percentage of men and women with a college degree was widest in 1980, when 20.9 percent of men but only 13.6 percent of women were college graduates. Men were much more likely than women to have a college degree in 1980 because many men had gone to college in the 1960s and 1970s to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Today, women are as likely as men to be college graduates (percentage of people aged 25 or older who are college graduates, by sex, 1950, 1980, and 2012) 40% 31% 31% 20% 21% 14% 0% 7% 5% men women 48 AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN

5 Ed u c at i o n Table 2.1 Educational Attainment of Women, 1950 to 2012 (percent of women aged 25 or older who are high school or college graduates, 1950 to 2012, percentage point change, ) high school college graduate graduate % 30.6% Percentage point change 1950 to Source: Bureau of the Census, Educational Attainment, CPS Historical Time Series Tables, Internet site calculations by New Strategist AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN 49

6 Dual-Earners Account for the Majority of Couples In 52 percent of the nation s married couples, both husband and wife are in the labor force. In nearly every age group, the majority of couples are dual-earners. The dual-earner share reaches 69 percent among couples aged 40 to 44. Only among couples aged 55 or older are dual-earners in the minority. Twenty-three percent of the nation s married couples have only the husband in the labor force. This arrangement is most common among the youngest couples because many are new parents. In 18 percent of couples, neither husband nor wife is in the labor force most of them retirees. Neither spouse works in 54 percent of couples aged 65 to 74 and 82 percent of couples aged 75 or older. As boomers age, a growing share of couples will have neither spouse in the labor force. Fewer than one in four couples has only the husband in the labor force (percent distribution of married couples by labor force status of husband and wife, 2012) 60% 52% 30% 23% 18% 8% 0% husband and wife in labor force husband only in labor force wife only in labor force neither spouse in labor force 206 AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN

7 Labor Force Table 5.14 Labor Force Status of Married-Couple Family Groups, 2012 (number and percent distribution of married-couple family groups aged 20 or older by age of householder and labor force status of husband and wife, 2012; numbers in thousands) husband and/or wife in labor force neither husband nor wife total husband and wife husband only wife only in labor force Married couples 61,047 31,803 13,820 4,595 10,830 Under age 25 1, Aged 25 to 29 3,576 2,217 1, Aged 30 to 34 5,482 3,618 1, Aged 35 to 39 5,727 3,803 1, Aged 40 to 44 6,622 4,593 1, Aged 45 to 54 13,822 9,335 3, Aged 55 to 64 12,431 6,188 2,726 1,625 1,891 Aged 65 to 74 7,751 1,208 1,288 1,059 4,197 Aged 75 or older 4, ,619 Married couples 100.0% 52.1% 22.6% 7.5% 17.7% Under age Aged 25 to Aged 30 to Aged 35 to Aged 40 to Aged 45 to Aged 55 to Aged 65 to Aged 75 or older Source: Bureau of the Census, America s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012, detailed tables, Internet site calculations by New Strategist AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN 207