Table 1. Number of jobs held by individuals from age 18 to age 44 in 1978-2008 by educational 
attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age

                                         Average number of jobs for persons ages 18 to 44 
             Characteristic                                in 1978-2008
             
                                                  Ages 18  Ages 23  Ages 28  Ages 33  Ages 39
                                       Total (1)   to 22    to 27    to 32    to 38    to 44

Total ...................................  11.0     4.4      3.2      2.6      2.4      2.0
 Less than a high school diploma ........  11.8     4.0      3.4      2.7      2.6      1.9
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.4     4.1      2.9      2.5      2.4      2.0
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.4     4.4      3.3      2.7      2.5      2.1
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  11.3     4.9      3.5      2.6      2.3      2.0

Men .....................................  11.4     4.5      3.4      2.8      2.5      2.0
 Less than a high school diploma ........  13.3     4.6      4.0      3.0      2.7      2.1
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.7     4.3      3.2      2.7      2.4      1.9
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.8     4.6      3.5      2.9      2.5      2.1
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  11.0     4.6      3.5      2.6      2.5      2.0

Women ...................................  10.7     4.2      3.1      2.4      2.4      2.0
 Less than a high school diploma ........   9.7     3.1      2.5      2.2      2.3      1.7
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.0     3.8      2.7      2.3      2.4      2.0
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.1     4.3      3.2      2.5      2.5      2.1
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  11.7     5.2      3.6      2.6      2.2      1.9

White non-Hispanic ......................  11.1     4.6      3.3      2.6      2.4      2.0
 Less than a high school diploma ........  12.7     4.4      3.7      2.8      2.7      2.0
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.4     4.2      3.0      2.5      2.3      1.9
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.4     4.6      3.4      2.7      2.5      2.0
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  11.3     5.0      3.5      2.6      2.3      1.9

Black non-Hispanic ......................  10.7     3.5      3.1      2.7      2.5      2.1
 Less than a high school diploma ........   9.7     2.8      2.8      2.3      2.2      1.7
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.3     3.3      2.9      2.7      2.6      2.0
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.5     3.9      3.2      2.8      2.7      2.3
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  11.5     4.0      3.6      2.8      2.5      2.3

Hispanic or Latino ......................  10.7     4.0      3.0      2.5      2.4      2.1
 Less than a high school diploma ........  10.4     3.6      2.8      2.4      2.4      2.0
 High school graduates, no college (2) ..  10.4     4.0      2.9      2.4      2.3      2.0
 Some college or associate degree .......  11.4     4.2      3.1      2.7      2.4      2.3
 Bachelor's degree and higher (3) .......  10.7     4.2      3.3      2.7      2.5      2.0

   1  Jobs that were held in more than one of the age categories were counted in each appro-
priate column, but only once in the total column.
   2  Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
   3  Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, or doctoral degrees.
   NOTE: This table excludes individuals who turned age 18 before January 1, 1978, or who had 
not yet turned age 45 when interviewed in 2008-09. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 
1979 consists of men and women who were born in the years 1957-64 and were ages 14 to 22 when
first interviewed in 1979. These individuals were ages 43 to 52 in 2008-09. Educational attain-
ment is defined as of the 2008-09 survey. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mu-
tually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall to-
tals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not suffi-
ciently large to provide statistically reliable estimates.