The American Occupational Marriage Structure, 1980 & 2010

In this paper we explore occupational structure in the USA, as measured by the social networks which link occupations through marriage. Network ties between two occupations are defined if the proportion of husbands in occupation A who have wives in occupation B is greater than the proportion of wives in occupation B in the sample, or vice versa. We explore networks for 1980 and 2010, and ask whether social change in the period influences the structure of these networks. Results suggest a trend towards less educational and occupation segregation.