This article asks three research questions: Do serially cohabiting men form a selected group via their work histories? Are serial cohabitors less likely to marry but more likely to separate than single-instance cohabitors? If so, what part is played by features of their work histories in explaining these outcomes? The analyses are based on two British birth cohort studies relating to men born in 1958 (N = 7,333) and 1970 (N = 6,126). I find that serial cohabitors are less likely to marry but are more likely to separate. Although serial cohabitors do form a selected group via their work histories, the negative effect of serial cohabitation on marriage and the positive effect of serial cohabitation on separation remain significant and strong even after I control for cohabitors' before-cohabitation and within-cohabitation work histories. It appears that the experience of serial cohabitation itself that affects the attitudes of men towards marriage. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
