NLS Original Cohorts:
Mature and Young Women, Older and Young Men

The four groups of men and women in the NLS Original Cohorts were first interviewed in the mid-to-late 1960s. These cohorts were selected because each faced important labor market decisions, which were of special concern to policy makers. Respondents in the mature women's and young women's cohorts continue to be interviewed on a biennial basis, and have been interviewed for over three decades. Both men's cohorts have been retired. [Older and Young Men Cohort Overview]

Mature and Young Women

The NLS of Mature women was a group of women in their 30s and early 40s, many of whom were reentering the workforce and balancing the roles of homemaker, mother and labor force participants. The NLS of Young women was comprised of women in their teen and early 20s who were completing school, making initial career and job decisions, and starting families. [More]

The NLS Mature and Young Women (NLSW) public-use file that includes data from 2003 and all prior years is available for researchers to use. No future collection of NLSW data is planned at this time.

Mature and Young Women Cohort Data

• Order or download data and software
• Mature women web investigator: access all Mature Women cohort data on-line
• Young women web investigator: access all Young Women cohort data on-line
• Create custom weights for the Mature or Young Women
• Information about the Original Cohorts Geocode data
  Please note there is a different process for obtaining confidential data about the original cohorts than the standard Geocode application used for the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult, and NLSY97 cohorts.

Mature and Young Women Cohorts Documentation

• Mature Women's User's Guide
• Young Women's User's Guide
• Mature and Young Women Errata
• Attachment 2: Census Codes
• Mature and Young Women Handbook Chapter (PDF) ( 198K, 27 pages)
• Table 5.6 from the Handbook; Selected variables by survey round Mature Women (PDF, 7 pages)
• Table 5.7 from the Handbook; Selected variables by survey round Young Women (PDF, 7 pages)

Order Data | Original Cohorts | NLSY79 | NLSY79 Children | NLSY97 | NLS Data Files |
NLS Documentation | Bibliography | Research Papers | NLS Newsletter

 

Last Modified Date: January 10, 2006