(Bloomberg) -- A record share of young women in the U.S. livedat home last year and the economy had little do with it.

Some 36.4% of women age 18 to 34 lived with their parentsor relatives in 2014, the highest since records began in 1940,according to a report released Wednesday by Pew Research Center in Washington. Whilethe share of young men was even greater at42.8%, it wasn't quite as high as it was some 75 yearsago.

"The result is a striking U-shaped curve for young women – andyoung men – indicating a return to the past, statisticallyspeaking," Richard Fry, senior researcher at the Pew ResearchCenter, wrote in the report. But "the reasons that more women todayare living with mom and dad are far different."

The increase is puzzling considering the improved state ofthe economy and an improving job market that has helpedmore young people earn enough to venture out on their own.Here are some of the longer term forces that could be at play:

Young people are opting for more education

College enrollment rates for both full- and part-time studentshave generally increased over the past couple decades, and somestudents may be trying to offset stiff tuition costs bybunking with their parents. Among millennials in college orgraduate school, 14% live in "non-institutional group quarters,"mostly dorms, while 41% live with their parents, according toresearch published last year by real-estate websiteTrulia.

Young women are less likely to bemarried

Eternal happiness can wait. Millennials are much less likely tobe married than their parents were at their age, and marriage oftenserves as an impetus to move out. Thirty percent of women and24% of men aged 18 to 34 were married in 2013, compared with almost50% in 1980.

When they do get married, it's at an olderage

The median age for Americans getting married for the firsttime has risen and is now pushing 30 years old. Withoutthe urgency of impending nuptials, young people are taking theirtime to move out of the nest.

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.