Occupation and separations in Sweden

Andreas P. Raneke, Statistics Sweden

This study aims to provide a descriptive picture of separations and divorces among different occupations in Sweden. Couples formed in 1999-2001 were followed up in 2009 to see whether they had separated or not. In this study, to form a relationship means either marriage, persons who entered a registered partnership or cohabitants with common children. A separation means either by court dissolved marriage/partnership or cohabitants that have moved apart. The occupational groups presented are occupation at the start of the relationship. Data is derived from the Total Population Register, Historical database and STATIV database. The results show that three out of ten couples with a middle-age under 25 years at the start of the relationship had separated under the studied period. The share of separations is decreasing the higher the middle age was at the start of the relationship. Four out of ten couples with an age difference greater than ten years between the partners had separated before 2010. Union dissolution is more common among couples with a low level of education. For couples were both partners had pre-secondary education, almost three out of ten had went their separate ways while corresponding for couples with high education were 12 percent. It is most common to separate among couples were at least one of them is working in the occupational group “Protective services”. Almost every fourth person in these occupations dissolved. Occupations with the highest rate of separations often don’t require any form of higher education. The occupational group “Life science and health professions” has the lowest share of dissolutions. About ten percent within these groups had separated from its partner. Common for these occupations is that they require some level of higher education.