National Longitudinal Surveys

• National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)-- Survey of young men and women born in the years 1980-84; respondents were ages 12-17 when first interviewed in 1997.
• National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79)-- Survey of men and women born in the years 1957-64; respondents were ages 14-22 when first interviewed in 1979.
• NLSY79 Children and Young Adults-- Survey of the biological children of women in the NLSY79.
• National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Mature Women (NLSW)-- The Young Women's survey includes women who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1968. The Mature Women's survey includes women who were ages 30-44 when first interviewed in 1967. These surveys were discontinued in 2003.
• National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Men and Older Men-- The Young Men's survey, which was discontinued in 1981, includes men who were ages 14-24 when first interviewed in 1966. The Older Men's survey, which was discontinued in 1990, includes men who were ages 45-59 when first interviewed in 1966.

Number of Jobs Held, Labor Market Activity, and Earnings Growth Among the Youngest Baby Boomers: Results From A Longitudinal Survey [NLSY79 Round 23]

September 10, 2010

The average person born in the latter years of the baby boom (1957 to 1964) held 11 jobs from ages 18 to 44, with most of these jobs held from ages 18 to 27. In general, workers with higher levels of education spent a larger percentage of weeks employed and experienced more rapid growth in real earnings. More...
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America's Young Adults at 23: School Enrollment, Training and Employment Transitions between ages 22 and 23 [NLSY97 Round 12]

February 09, 2011

A study of 23 year-olds reveals that men averaged 4.7 jobs and women 5.1 jobs from ages 18 to 23. High school dropouts were employed 54% of weeks compared to 74% for high school graduates. Eight percent of male high school graduates who never attended college were in the military at age 23. More...
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Archived

• NLSY97 Releases
• NLSY79 Releases

• Average number of jobs started by individuals from age 18 to age 44 in 1978-2008 by age and sex (PDF 5K)

• Distribution of number of jobs held by individuals from age 18 to age 44 in 1978-2008 by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age (PDF 5K)

• Number of unemployment spells experienced by individuals from age 18 to age 44 in 1978-2008 by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (PDF 5K)

• Number of unemployment spells experienced by individuals from age 18 to age 44 in 1978-2008 by educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (PDF 5K)

• NLS public-use files via NLS Investigator at NLSinfo.org
• NLS Geocode data
• NLS zip code, census tract, and school survey data

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

• NLSY97 User's Guide
• NLSY79 User's Guide
• NLSY79 Child and Young Adult User's Guide (2006)
• Mature Women's User's Guide (2001)
• Young Women's User's Guide (2001)
• List of manuals and summary reports available

NLS Publications

• Work and Family
• NLS Discussion Paper Series
• Reports on Youth Employment
• Monthly Labor Review Articles
• Annotated Bibliography

People Are Asking...

1. What are the scheduled release dates for NLS data
2. What information is available from the NLS
3. Questions about obtaining NLS data and protecting respondent confidentiality
4. How to use NLS data
5. Questions about Labor Market Activity

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a longitudinal survey?
2. What variables are in the National Longitudinal Surveys?
3. Do the National Longitudinal Surveys provide monthly, quarterly, or annual historical estimates of labor market activity?
4. Can the National Longitudinal Surveys be used to produce estimates for specific U.S. States or other geographic areas?
5. Can the National Longitudinal Surveys be used to produce estimates for specific industries or occupations?
6. Some previous NLSY97 documentation has mentioned Interest Finder variables. When will these variables be available on the NLSY97 data file?

All NLS FAQs »

• To receive email messages alerting you to NLS product updates including the NLS Newsletter, data releases, and other important information from the NLS program please sign up at: http://www.bls.gov/nls/nls_subscribe.htm.

• Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey--national data on employment, unemployment, earnings, and other labor market topics by demographic characteristics.
• Census Bureau Population and Household Topics
• National Longitudinal Surveys Annotated Bibliography-- Descriptions of over 6,000 NLS-based journal articles, working papers, monographs, and dissertations stored in a searchable electronic database.
• National Data Sets-- The Research Forum encourages collaborative research and informed policy on welfare reform, child and family well-being, and community-related issues. The website includes a list publicly available nationally representative data sets.

NLS Contacts