The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently released new data regarding the number of jobs, labor market experience, marital status, and health for Americans born between 1957 and 1964, the latter years of the baby boomer generation.
These findings build upon the bureau’s National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 – a study of 9,964 men and women who were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979 and ages 57 to 66 when they were interviewed most recently in 2022 and 2023. The participants have been interviewed periodically throughout the past 43 years, documenting their experiences with work, education, training, income, health, and other information throughout their lifetime.
Individuals born between 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs between the ages of 18 to 58, with 40 percent of those jobs held before age 25. Men held an average of 13.1 jobs, while women averaged 12.7 jobs throughout those four decades. On average, men without a high school diploma held 14.3 jobs between ages 18 and 54, while men with a bachelor’s degree or higher held 12.4 jobs. In contrast, women with at least a bachelor’s degree held more jobs during this time period than women without a high school diploma, at an average of 13.6 jobs and 10.7 jobs, respectively.
Overall, Americans in this birth cohort worked 77 percent of the weeks from ages 18 to 58. Across every education level, men spent a larger portion of this time employed than women (83 percent versus 72 percent), while women spent a larger portion outside of the workforce (24 percent versus 12 percent). Both men and women’s labor force participation increased with their level of education. Women without a high school diploma spent 48 percent of weeks between the ages of 18 and 58 outside of the labor force, while women with a bachelor’s degree or higher were outside of the work force only 17 percent of weeks.
At the time of their 58th birthday, some 64 percent of individuals were married and 36 percent were not. For men, those who were unmarried worked 75 percent of the weeks from ages 35 to 58, compared to 90 percent for those who were married. The percentage of weeks employed was similar for unmarried and married women, at 73 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
Among individuals who reported health limitations on their ability to work, women were more likely to be limited than men across all age groups. At age 24, 5 percent of women and 2 percent of men were limited. These percentages increased to 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively by age 34; 12 percent and 8 percent, respectively, at age 44; and 23 percent and 16 percent, respectively, at age 54. By their 58th birthday, 26 percent of women and 21 percent of men were limited in the kind or amount of work they can do.