Online Dating Sites Continue to be Popular in the Recession

As the economy continues its downward trend in December, singles continue to use online dating sites in increasing numbers. Are people trying to save money on dates by finding a better match first through a dating service rather than trolling bars? A night out on the town with your single friends is expensive when you add up all the costs, cab fare, drinks and cover charge. For probably much less than a night out with friends, you can join a dating site for a month. Some statistics from an article by the Los Angeles Times seem to back up this thinking:

Craigslist personals postings and eHarmony.com registrations have each seen 20% increases in 2008. Match.com has seen an even larger spike; its memberships were 22% higher in December than they were in the same period last year. Even more interesting, both eHarmony and Match.com reported especially high traffic on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted.

Match.com also reported a 50% increase in profile views for the month of December when compared to November. Remember, November also saw its share of increases as well, where dating sites like Match.com, Perfectmatch.com and Date.com all saw more members joining and/or participating in the month of November, when compared to the same month from previous years. Match.com also performed a survey of 1,500 members and found 84 percent of them were "being more selective about first dates in today's economy."

For more information about the online dating sites and how they are performing in the recession, read this article from the Los Angeles Times. Check out our reviews of Match.com, PerfectMatch.com and Date.com for more information on these successful dating services.