2 Marital Status

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NPS Applicants
AC Accessions

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Age
Race/Ethnicity
Gender
Marital Status
Education
AFQT
High Quality
Reading Ability
Geography

The majority of accessions are young high school graduates and the military is often their first full-time job.  Thus, very few are married.  In FY 1997, 9 percent of male and 13 percent of female recruits were married, compared to 57 and 46 percent of male and female enlisted members, respectively.  Table 2.6 compares marriage rates of accessions in the Services with 18- to 24-year-old civilians in the labor force.  Civilians are more likely to be married than accessions (16 versus 10 percent).  Within the Services, Army recruits are most likely to be married (16 percent) and Marine Corps recruits are least likely (4 percent).  Figure 2.4 shows marital status trends for FYs 1976-1997 by Service.

Table 2.6.  FY 1997 Active Component NPS Accessions Who Are Married, by Gender and Service, and Civilians 18-24 Years Old (Percent)

Gender

Army

Navy

Marine Corps

Air Force

DoD

18-24 Year-Old Civilians

Males

15.2

5.0

4.1

9.8

9.4

11.8

Females

18.9

6.6

5.9

10.4

13.2

20.1

Total

15.9

5.2

4.2

10.0

10.1

16.0

Also see Appendix Table B-2 (Marital Status by Age and Gender).

Source:  Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, October 1996 - September 1997.

Figure 2.4.  Marital status trends of Active Component NPS accessions, by Service, FYs 1976-1997.

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