BLS Research Chronicles Job Experiences of Today’s Older Millennials

A research report released Tuesday, May 5, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed Americans born between 1980 and 1984, representing older Millennials, held an average of 9.4 jobs from ages 18 through 38.

The findings are part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which has followed approximately 9,000 individuals over two decades to track their employment, education and life experiences.

Key Findings on Job Mobility

The survey indicated job changing is most frequent in early adulthood before stabilizing later in life.

• High frequency in youth: Individuals held an average of 5.1 jobs between the ages of 18 and 23. Among individuals who started jobs while aged 18 to 24, 61% of those jobs ended in less than a year and 95% of jobs ended in less than six years.
• Stabilization comes with age: From ages 30 to 38, the number of jobs held dropped to an average of 2.9. Among those who started jobs while aged 25 to 38, only 32% ended in less than a year, while 70% ended in less than six years.

Education and Gender Differences

The data showed variations in the number of jobs held based on education and gender.

Between ages 18 and 38, both men and women with some college or an associate degree, along with women with a bachelor’s degree or higher, held more jobs compared to other educational attainment levels.

Women in the study held an average of 9.5 jobs, with those holding some college or an associate degree having the highest average number of jobs (10.1).

Men held an average of 9.2 jobs between the ages of 18 and 38, with those holding some college or an associate degree having a higher average number (9.6).

Between ages 18 and 24, individuals with less than a high school diploma left jobs within one year 70% of the time, compared to 60% for those in that age group who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Health and Work

The report also found that as this cohort approached age 39, more individuals reported that their health limited their work. By age 39, 11% of individuals reported that their health restricted the kind or amount of work they could do, compared to only 7% at age 27.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

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