Table 7. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from ages 18 through 56 in 1979-2020 by marital status, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Table 7.  Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from ages 18 through 56 in 1978-2020 by marital status, educational attainment, 
sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity												
												
	Characteristic				Percent of total weeks while ages 18 to 34 in 1979-1998				Percent of total weeks while ages 35 to 56 in 1992-2020	
				
						Not Married at age 34		             Married at age 34			    Not Married at age 56			  Married at age 56	
								   Not in 				     Not in 					Not in 					 Not in 
					 Employed    Unemployed    labor force    Employed    Unemployed     labor force     Employed    Unemployed     labor force    Employed    Unemployed    labor force
												
Total .................................	  72.1		 7.4	   20.4		   78.0		4.3		17.7		74.2	  5.3		20.5		83.5	    2.4		  14.1
 Less than a high school diploma ......	  56.3		11.3	   32.4		   60.9		7.9		31.2		55.0	  6.3		38.7		64.4	    4.1		  31.5
 High school graduates, no college (1).   70.6		 8.7	   20.6		   77.6		5.3		17.1		69.4	  6.3		24.3		82.2	    2.8	  	  15.0
 Some college or associate degree .....	  74.9		 6.9	   18.2		   79.4		4.1		16.5		77.3	  5.2		17.5		82.9	    2.5		  14.6
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   78.1		 4.1	   17.8		   80.4		2.6		17.1		89.0	  2.8		 8.1		88.7	    1.4		   9.8
													
Men ...................................	  75.8		 8.5	   15.7  	   86.0		4.5		 9.5		75.0	  6.3		18.8		91.0	    2.4		   6.7
 Less than a high school diploma ......	  66.5		14.0	   19.5		   75.4		9.4		15.2		58.2	  7.5		34.3		74.2	    4.2		  21.6
 High school graduates, no college (1).   75.6		 9.7	   14.7		   88.1		5.7		 6.2		69.8	  7.6		22.6		89.6	    2.6		   7.8
 Some college or associate degree......   79.1		 7.3	   13.7		   89.0		3.7		 7.3		80.3	  5.2		14.4		90.9	    2.4		   6.6
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   77.2		 4.6	   18.3		   83.4		2.5		14.0		92.4	  3.4		 4.2		95.7	    1.6		   2.7
 								 				
Women .................................	  67.7		 6.1	   26.2		   70.3		4.1		25.6		73.4	  4.4		22.1		75.4	    2.4		  22.2
 Less than a high school diploma ......	  41.4		 7.4	   51.2		   42.5		6.0		51.5		50.7	  4.7		44.6		50.2	    3.9		  45.9
 High school graduates, no college (1).   63.1		 7.2	   29.7		   66.6		5.0		28.5		68.9	  5.0		26.1		73.8	    3.1		  23.1
 Some college or associate degree .....	  71.4		 6.5	   22.1		   71.5		4.4		24.0		75.1	  5.2		19.7		75.7	    2.7	  	  21.7
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   79.1		 3.6	   17.3		   77.6		2.6		19.8		86.8	  2.4		10.8		80.7	    1.2		  18.1
															
White non-Hispanic ....................   77.2		 6.0	   16.8		   78.9		3.9		17.3		77.3	  4.6		18.1		84.2	    2.1		  13.7
 Less than a high school diploma ......   66.5		10.4	   23.1		   62.4		8.0		29.6		59.3	  5.1		35.6		65.8	    3.6		  30.6
 High school graduates, no college (1).   77.2		 6.9	   15.9		   78.7		4.8		16.5		72.0	  5.8		22.2		83.2	    2.5		  14.3
 Some college or associate degree .....	  78.4		 5.8	   15.8		   80.4		3.7		15.9		79.5	  4.6		15.9		83.0	    2.3		  14.7
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   78.9		 3.7	   17.5		   80.4		2.4		17.2		90.1	  2.3		 7.5		88.7	    1.3		  10.0
												
Black non-Hispanic ....................	  58.5		11.8	   29.7		   73.0		7.8		19.2		66.4	  7.2		26.5		79.4	    4.5		  16.1
 Less than a high school diploma ......   39.0		13.2	   47.8		   60.4		10.0		29.5		44.8	  8.0		47.2		57.3	    8.1		  34.5
 High school graduates, no college (1).	  54.8		13.6	   31.5		   70.1		9.9		20.1		63.6	  7.9		28.4		75.1	    4.9		  20.0
 Some college or associate degree .....	  65.8		10.1	   24.1		   74.6		6.6		18.8		72.5	  6.3		21.1		81.7	    4.4		  13.9
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   73.8		 7.2	   19.1		   79.1		4.8		16.1		83.5	  5.6		10.9		89.5	    3.0		   7.5
												
Hispanic or Latino ....................   65.1		 7.8	   27.0		   73.7		4.6		21.7		68.6	  6.1		25.3		79.8	    3.2		  17.0
 Less than a high school diploma ......   47.7		11.4	   41.0		   53.9		6.4		39.7		59.0	  7.9		33.1		62.3	    3.9		  33.7
 High school graduates, no college (1).   63.5		 9.0	   27.5		   75.6		4.9		19.4		64.7	  5.6		29.6		80.7	    4.2		  15.1
 Some college or associate degree .....	  78.0		 4.7	   17.3		   76.3		4.2		19.5		74.0	  6.9		19.1		83.1	    2.3		  14.6
 Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......   73.1		 3.8	   23.1		   83.0		2.5		14.6		85.8	  2.8		11.4		88.1	    1.7		  10.2
																					
 (1) Includes individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent.												
 (2) Includes individuals with bachelor's, master's, professional, or doctoral degrees.												
Note: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 consists of men and women who were born in the years 1957-64 and were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979.  These individuals were ages 55 to 64 in 2020-21.  
Educational attainment is determined as of the 2020-21 survey. Marital status is determined for the interview date in which the respondent first turned age 34 or age 56.  If not interviewed at that age, then the 
marital status is determined using the data from the prior age.  Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not 
sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates.