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National Longitudinal Surveys
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National Longitudinal Surveys Home Page
The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women. NLS data have served as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers for more than 50 years. Learn about the different NLS cohorts.
Notices
- NLSY97 data from 1997 through 2021 (Rounds 1-20) released. Read More »
- NLSY79 data from 1979 through 2020 (Rounds 1-29) released. Read More »
- Introducing the NLSY27 Read More »
Graphics
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: NLSY79 cumulative number of jobs held from age 18 to age 56 in 1978-2020, by sex and age.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: NLSY79 percent of weeks employed from age 18 to age 56 in 1978-2020, by educational attainment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: NLSY79 percent of weeks not in the labor force from age 18 to age 56 in 1978-2020, by sex and age.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: NLSY79 marital status at age 24, age 34, age 44, and age 56 by educational attainment.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: NLSY79 percent of individuals whose health limited the kind or amount of work they performed by age and educational attainment.
Latest News Releases
Individuals born in the years 1957-1964 held 12.7 jobs from ages 18 to 56
08/22/2023
Individuals born in the latter years of the baby boom held an average of 12.7 jobs from
age 18 to age 56, with nearly half of these jobs held from ages 18 to 24.
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Americans born in the early 1980s hold an average of 9.0 jobs from ages 18 through 36
04/02/2024
A longitudinal study of Americans born in the early 1980s reveals that individuals held an
average of 9.0 jobs from ages 18 through 36. Over half of these jobs were held between the
ages of 18 and 23. Individuals were employed for an average of 76 percent of weeks from ages 18 to 36.
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Publications
The Economics Daily
Labor force participation increased by education level for Americans born from 1980 to 1984
Individuals born in the early 1980s were employed for 76 percent of all the weeks from ages 18 to 36. They were unemployed for 5 percent of those weeks and not in the labor force (neither working nor seeking work) for 19 percent. As a group, individuals with higher educational attainment were employed for a larger percentage of weeks and unemployed for a smaller percentage of weeks than individuals with less education. read more »
Monthly Labor Review
Employment, telework, and child remote schooling from February to May 2021: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
This article reviews data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 on the likelihoods of work and telework associated with characteristics related to demographics, education, geography, and prepandemic jobs. read more »
Beyond the Numbers
How did employment change during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from a new BLS survey supplement
In an effort to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected labor market experience, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) fielded a short supplemental survey to gather information from its sample members on work and working conditions, among other topics. read more »