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Economic News Release
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Table 5. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from age 18 through age 32 in 1998-2017 by age, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Table 5. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor 
force from age 18 through age 32 in 1998-2017 by age, educational attainment, sex, race, 
and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity					

                                                        Percent of total weeks

           Age and characteristic                                                    
                                                                                     
                                                                                Not in
                                                                                labor
                                                    Employed    Unemployed      force

Total, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 ...............      74.8	    6.0		 19.2		
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      68.3	    6.4		 25.3
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      78.1	    6.0		 15.9
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      78.0	    5.8		 16.3

							
Men, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 .................      77.9	    6.6		 15.5
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      69.1	    7.0		 23.9
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      81.4	    6.7		 11.9
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      83.1	    6.2		 10.7

 					
Women, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 ...............      71.6	    5.5		 23.0
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      67.5	    5.8		 26.8
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      74.7	    5.4		 20.0
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      72.6	    5.4		 22.0

					
White, non-Hispanic, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 .      77.1	    5.0		 17.9
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      71.5	    5.2		 23.4
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      80.1	    5.1		 14.7
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      79.8	    4.7		 15.5

					
Black, non-Hispanic, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 .      65.6	   10.8		 23.7
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      56.9	   11.2		 31.9
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      69.5	   10.3		 20.2
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      70.2	   10.9		 18.9

							
Hispanic or Latino, ages 18 to 32 in 1998-2017 ..      73.9	    6.1		 20.0
 Ages 18 to 22 in 1998-2007 .....................      67.6	    7.0		 25.5
 Ages 23 to 27 in 2003-2012 .....................      77.7	    5.9		 16.4
 Ages 28 to 32 in 2008-2017 .....................      76.4	    5.5		 18.1
					
					
  NOTE: This table excludes individuals who had not yet turned age 33 when 
interviewed in 2017-18. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists 
of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic 
or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race 
groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because 
their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide 
statistically reliable estimates. 					



Last Modified Date: October 05, 2023