Table 8. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from ages 18 through 58 in 1978-2022 by marital status, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Table 8. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from ages 18 through 58 in 1978-2022 by marital status, educational attainment,
sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Characteristic Percent of total weeks while ages 18 to 34 in 1978-1998 Percent of total weeks while ages 35 to 58 in 1992-2022
Not Married at age 34 Married at age 34 Not Married at age 58 Married at age 58
Employed Unemployed Not in Employed Unemployed Not in Employed Unemployed Not in Employed Unemployed Not in
labor force labor force labor force labor force
Total ................................... 72.2 7.5 20.3 78.1 4.3 17.6 74.2 5.2 20.6 82.8 2.3 14.9
Less than a high school diploma ....... 56.2 12.1 31.7 63.1 7.7 29.2 52.5 6.6 40.8 62.2 4.7 33.1
High school graduates, no college (1) . 70.3 8.9 20.8 77.4 5.4 17.2 70.3 6.1 23.6 81.2 2.8 16.1
Some college or associate degree ...... 74.6 6.9 18.5 79.2 4.1 16.7 77.5 5.0 17.6 82.8 2.4 14.7
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 78.5 4.1 17.4 80.5 2.6 16.9 87.9 3.0 9.1 87.6 1.4 11.0
Men ..................................... 76.0 8.4 15.6 85.8 4.6 9.6 75.2 6.0 18.7 89.9 2.4 7.7
Less than a high school diploma ....... 66.4 15.0 18.6 77.3 9.3 13.3 56.3 7.5 36.2 70.4 5.4 24.2
High school graduates, no college (1) . 75.8 9.7 14.6 87.5 5.9 6.7 70.9 7.4 21.7 88.2 2.7 9.1
Some college or associate degree ...... 78.8 7.1 14.1 88.8 3.8 7.4 81.1 4.6 14.3 89.8 2.4 7.8
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 77.6 4.5 17.9 83.3 2.5 14.1 90.6 3.4 5.9 95.1 1.6 3.2
Women ................................... 67.4 6.5 26.1 70.7 4.0 25.3 73.2 4.5 22.3 75.2 2.2 22.6
Less than a high school diploma ....... 42.0 8.1 49.9 46.3 5.7 48.0 48.1 5.6 46.3 49.0 3.5 47.5
High school graduates, no college (1) . 61.9 7.8 30.3 66.8 4.9 28.3 69.6 4.6 25.8 73.1 2.8 24.0
Some college or associate degree ...... 70.9 6.8 22.3 71.7 4.4 24.0 74.7 5.3 20.0 76.5 2.4 21.0
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 79.7 3.6 16.8 77.9 2.6 19.5 86.1 2.8 11.1 79.3 1.1 19.5
White non-Hispanic ...................... 77.1 6.1 16.8 79.0 3.9 17.2 77.4 4.5 18.1 83.5 2.1 14.4
Less than a high school diploma ....... 65.4 11.1 23.4 64.8 7.7 27.5 56.8 5.3 37.9 62.7 4.5 32.8
High school graduates, no college (1) . 77.0 7.2 15.8 78.6 4.8 16.6 73.4 5.5 21.2 82.4 2.4 15.2
Some college or associate degree ...... 78.5 5.7 15.8 80.1 3.7 16.2 79.4 4.4 16.2 83.1 2.2 14.8
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 79.1 3.7 17.2 80.6 2.4 17.0 88.7 2.7 8.5 87.4 1.3 11.3
Black non-Hispanic ...................... 57.9 12.1 30.1 72.8 7.8 19.4 65.8 7.1 27.0 78.7 4.3 17.0
Less than a high school diploma ....... 37.4 14.4 48.2 60.3 9.8 29.9 42.3 8.6 49.1 56.2 7.8 36.0
High school graduates, no college (1) . 53.8 13.8 32.4 69.4 10.0 20.6 62.9 7.9 29.2 73.6 4.9 21.5
Some college or associate degree ...... 64.7 10.3 25.1 74.8 6.7 18.5 72.6 6.4 21.0 81.5 4.1 14.4
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 74.7 7.3 18.0 79.3 4.5 16.2 83.4 4.8 11.8 89.8 2.7 7.5
Hispanic or Latino ...................... 66.3 8.0 25.7 74.3 4.6 21.1 69.2 6.0 24.8 79.2 3.0 17.8
Less than a high school diploma ....... 49.1 12.3 38.6 57.2 6.4 36.4 56.6 7.9 35.5 63.6 3.5 32.9
High school graduates, no college (1) . 64.4 8.9 26.7 75.9 5.0 19.1 67.3 5.6 27.1 77.7 3.7 18.6
Some college or associate degree ...... 77.6 5.2 17.2 76.8 4.0 19.1 74.7 6.4 18.9 82.5 2.7 14.7
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ...... 75.4 3.5 21.1 82.9 2.5 14.7 86.8 2.7 10.6 88.6 1.6 9.8
(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 57 to 66 in 2022-23. Educational attainment is determined as of the 2022-23 survey. Marital status is determined for the interview date in which the respondent first turned age 34 or
age 58. 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.
Last Modified Date: August 26, 2025
United States Department of Labor
