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. For more than 4 decades, NLS data have served as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers.

NLS General Overviews

 

NLS News Releases

Number of Jobs Held, Labor Market Activity, and Earnings Growth Among the Youngest Baby Boomers: Results From A Longitudinal Survey [NLSY79 Round 24]

July 25, 2012

The average person born in the latter years of the baby boom held 11.3 jobs from ages 18 to 46, with nearly half of these jobs held from ages 18 to 24. More...
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America's Young Adults at 24: School Enrollment, Training, and Employment Transitions Between Ages 23 and 24 Summary [NLSY97 Round 13]

February 09, 2012

A study of 24 year-olds reveals that men averaged 5.1 jobs and women 5.6 jobs from ages 18 to 24. High school dropouts were employed 55% of weeks compared to 75% for high school graduates. Seven percent of male high school graduates who never attended college were in the military at age 24. More...
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Archived

 

NLS Tables

  • Average number of jobs started by individuals from age 18 to age 46 by age and sex (PDF 5K)

  • Distribution of number of jobs held by individuals from age 18 to age 46 in 1978-2010 by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and age (PDF 5K)

  • Number of unemployment spells experienced by individuals from age 18 to age 46 in 1978-2010 by age, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity (PDF 5K)

  • Number of unemployment spells experienced by individuals from age 18 to age 46 in 1978-2010 by educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity (PDF 5K)

 

NLS Data

 

NLS Publications

General publications

  • NLS Handbook (2005)
  • "NLS News" Newsletter --This quarterly newsletter includes information about new data releases, error notices, completed NLS research and other information of interest to researchers.

Technical Manuals at NLSinfo.org

NLS Publications

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

Contact Us

NLS Contacts

E-mail: (NLS_INFO@bls.gov)
(NLS_INFO@bls.gov)
Phone: (202) 691 - 7410

Email updates: To receive email updates about NLS data visit:
www.bls.gov/nls/nls_subscribe.htm

Technical Help: For help with NLS data downloads, software, or NLSinvestigator:
(usersvc@chrr.osu.edu)
(usersvc@chrr.osu.edu)

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