Figure 1. Percentage of men who did not work during the years prior to the 1996 (NLSY79) interview and the 2015–16 (NLSY97) interview
Years before interview NLSY79 NLSY97

First year

 4.9 8.5

Second year

 5.3 9.6

Third year

 5.5 9.6

Note: Descriptive statistics are weighted with 1996 (NLSY79) and 2015 (NLSY97) survey weights.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97).