Americans born in the latter years of the baby boom held an average of 12.9 jobs between the ages of 18 and 58, with more than 40% of those jobs held between the ages of 18 and 24, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Findings in the report posted Tuesday (Aug. 26) are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, a survey of 9,964 men and women who were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979 and ages 57 to 66 when interviewed most recently in 2022-23. The respondents were born in the years 1957 to 1964, the latter years of the baby boom that occurred in the United States from 1946 to 1964, according to the BLS.
The survey spans 43 years and provides information on work and nonwork experiences, education, training, income and assets, health, and other characteristics.
“The information provided by respondents, who were interviewed annually from 1979 to 1994 and biennially since 1994, can be considered representative of all men and women born in the late 1950s and early 1960s and living in the United States when the survey began in 1979,” noted the BLS report.
Data provided Tuesday includes information on jobs held, job duration, earnings growth, marital status, and health. Following are some of the key points in the report.
Individuals born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 5.6 jobs while ages 18 to 24. The average fell to 4.5 jobs from ages 25 to 34; to 2.9 jobs from ages 35 to 44; to 2.2 jobs from ages 45 to 54; and to 1.3 jobs from ages 55 to 58.
Among individuals who started jobs between the ages of 45 to 54, the average individual had 21% of their jobs end in less than a year, and 56% end in fewer than 5 years.
On average, individuals in this cohort were employed during 77% of the weeks from ages 18 to 58. Generally, men spent a larger percent of weeks employed than did women (83% versus 72%). Women spent twice as much time out of the labor force (24% of weeks) as men (12% of weeks).
The average annual percent growth in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings was highest during a worker’s late teens and early twenties. Growth rates in earnings generally were higher for workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher than for workers with less education.
By their 58th birthday, 75% of individuals had received training outside of their regular schooling that offers academic diplomas or degrees. Participation in training programs varied by education level: 42% of those with less than a high school education, 67% of high school graduates with no college, 81% of those with some college or associate degree, and 87% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
At the time of their 58th birthday, 64% of the individuals were married and 36% were not married. The percent of individuals who were married varied by education: those with a bachelor’s degree or higher were more likely to be married than those with less education.
At age 58, men who were not married were employed 75% of the weeks from ages 35 to 58, compared with 90% for those who were married. The percentage of weeks employed was similar for women who were not married and married at 58 years of age (73% and 75%, respectively).
The percent of individuals reporting that their health limits the kind or amount of work they can do increased as the cohort aged. At 24 years of age, 4% of individuals reported that their health limits the kind or amount of work they can do; at 34 years of age, 5% were limited; at 44 years of age, 10% were limited; at 54 years of age, 19% were limited; and at 58 years of age, 23% were limited. The percent of individuals whose health limited the kind or amount of work they can do was generally higher for those with less education.