An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

PRINT:

From age 18 to 38, Americans born 1957–64 held more jobs than those born 1980–84

May 12, 2026

Americans born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 10.2 jobs from age 18 to 38, about 1 more job than the average of 9.4 jobs that those born from 1980 to 1984 held during the same age range.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Cumulative number of jobs held from age 18 through age 38, by sex and birth year
Age	Total born 1957–64	Total born 1980–84	Men born 1957–64	Men born 1980–84	Women born 1957–64	Women born 1980–84
18	1.6	1.5	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.6
19	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.3	2.4	2.5
20	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.0	3.3
21	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.7	3.7	4.0
22	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.4	4.4	4.7
23	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.3
24	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.8
25	6.2	6.1	6.4	5.9	5.9	6.3
26	6.6	6.5	6.8	6.3	6.4	6.7
27	7.1	6.8	7.3	6.6	6.8	7.0
28	7.4	7.1	7.7	6.9	7.2	7.3
29	7.8	7.4	8.1	7.2	7.5	7.5
30	8.1	7.6	8.4	7.5	7.9	7.8
31	8.5	7.9	8.8	7.7	8.1	8.0
32	8.8	8.1	9.1	8.0	8.4	8.3
33	9.0	8.4	9.4	8.2	8.7	8.5
34	9.3	8.6	9.6	8.4	9.0	8.7
35	9.6	8.8	9.9	8.6	9.2	8.9
36	9.8	9.0	10.1	8.8	9.5	9.1
37	10.0	9.2	10.3	9.0	9.7	9.3
38	10.2	9.4	10.5	9.2	10.0	9.5

At each age from 18 through 38, men born from 1957 to 1964 had held more jobs compared with men born from 1980 to 1984. By contrast, women born from 1957 to 1964 held fewer jobs than women born in the early 1980s until age 29 when each group had a job count of 7.5. At age 38, women born from 1957 to 1964 had held an average of 10.0 jobs since they were age 18, about a half job more than the average of 9.5 jobs that women born from 1980 to 1984 held during the same age range.

These data are from the National Longitudinal Surveys. To more learn, see “Labor Market Experience, Education, Partner Status, and Health for those Born 1980-1984.”

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, From age 18 to 38, Americans born 1957–64 held more jobs than those born 1980–84 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/from-age-18-to-38-americans-born-1957-64-held-more-jobs-than-those-born-1980-84.htm (visited May 13, 2026).

OF INTEREST