2001 Employment Experience of Youths: Results from a Longitudinal Survey — 2001-12-20

Youths who work at an early age are more likely to continue working as they get older. Eighty-five percent of youths who engaged in work activities while age 14 continued to work while age 15, and 90 percent of youths who worked while age 15 continued to work while age 16. These findings are from the first three annual rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The survey includes a nationally representative sample of about 9,000 young men and women who were born during the years 1980 to 1984. These respondents were ages 12 to 17 when first interviewed in 1997, and the oldest were age 20 when interviewed a third time in 1999-2000. The survey provides information on the employment experiences, schooling, family background, social behavior, and other characteristics of these youths.