Adults Born In The Early 1980s Held An Average Of 7.2 Jobs From Age 18 To 28, And Other Young Adult Statistics: Longitudinal Study, US Bureau Of Labor Statistics

From Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Economic News Release, "America's Young Adults at 29: Labor Market Activity, Education and Partner Status: Results from a Longitudinal Survey:"

Young adults born in the early 1980s held an average of 7.2 jobs from age 18 through age 28, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Individuals held more jobs at younger ages, and the number of jobs held declined as individuals aged. Young adults held an average of 3.9 jobs from ages 18 to 21 compared with 2.5 jobs from ages 25 to 28. From ages 18 to 28, women with more education held more jobs than women with less education. Regardless of education, men held a similar number of jobs.***Highlights from the longitudinal survey data [Tables available in embedded press release below.]:

• By 29 years of age, 34 percent of women had received a bachelor’s degree, compared with 26 percent of men. Seventy-two percent of women had attended college compared with 63 percent of men. (See table 1.)
  
• Young adults held an average of 7.2 jobs from ages 18 through 28, with over half of these jobs being held between the ages of 18 and 21. (See table 2.)
  
• Women with less than a high school diploma were employed an average of 41 percent of weeks from ages 18 to 28, while men with less than a high school diploma were employed 63 percent of weeks. Among young adults with a bachelor’s degree and higher, women were employed an average of 79 percent of weeks, while men were employed 75 percent of weeks. (See table 3.)
  
• Young adults were employed for an average of 74 percent of weeks from ages 18 to 28. This varied across age brackets: individuals were employed 67 percent of weeks from ages 18 to 21, 77 percent of weeks from ages 22 to 24, and 78 percent of weeks from ages 25 to 28. (See table 4.)
  
• Almost 50 percent of jobs held by high school dropouts from ages 18 to 28 were held for less than 6 months. For those with a bachelor’s degree and higher, 34 percent of jobs were held for less than 6 months. (See table 5.)
  
• At the time of their 29th birthday, 40 percent of young adults were married, 20 percent were cohabiting, and 40 percent were single. The percent of young adults living with a partner did not vary by education, though those with higher levels of education were more likely to be married and less likely to be cohabiting than those with lower levels of education. (See table 6.)
  
• Men who were single at age 29 were employed 70 percent of the weeks from ages 18 to 28, compared with 83 percent for those who were married and 76 percent for those who were cohabiting. The percentage of weeks employed did not vary substantially by partner status for women. (See table 7.)

America's Young Adults at 29, Labor Market Activity, Education and Partner Status, Results From a Longitudi... by Milton Recht