Table 4. Percent of weeks individuals were employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force from age 18 through age 25 
in 1998-2010 by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity


                                                              Age 18 to 21 in 2998-2006          Age 22 to 25 in 2002-10
                                                                 Percent of total weeks                Percent of total weeks
                     Characteristic                     Average                     Not in Average                      Not in
                                                        Number  Employed Unemployed labor  number  Employed  Unemployed labor 
                                                        of jobs                     force  of jobs                      force

Total ..................................................  4.1     66.7      6.4     26.9    3.2      77.0       5.8      17.2
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  3.7     50.5     12.8     36.7    2.8      57.7      10.8      31.6
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  4.1     68.7      7.6     23.7    3.0      76.0       6.6      17.4
  Some college or associate degree .....................  4.2     73.1      6.1     20.8    3.1      80.1       5.4      14.6
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  4.0     63.6      2.7     33.8    3.6      82.5       3.3      14.2

Men ....................................................  4.0     67.4      7.1     25.5    3.2      79.6       6.2      14.2
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  3.9     57.5     14.5     28.0    2.9      66.0      11.6      12.9
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  4.1     70.5      8.2     21.3    3.1      80.3       6.8      12.9
  Some college or associate degree .....................  4.1     74.6      6.0     19.4    3.1      83.3       5.4      11.3
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  3.7     58.1      2.8     39.1    3.4      80.9       3.4      15.6

Women ..................................................  4.2     66.0      5.7     28.3    3.2      74.2       5.4      20.5
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  3.3     41.5     10.6     47.9    2.6      46.9       9.5      43.3
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  4.1     66.1      6.8     27.1    2.8      70.0       6.3      23.8
  Some college or associate degree .....................  4.4     71.7      6.1     22.2    3.1      77.0       5.4      17.7
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  4.3     67.8      2.6     29.6    3.7      83.7       3.2      13.2

White, non-Hispanic ....................................  4.3     70.3      5.1     24.5    3.3      79.4       4.9      15.7
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  4.2     56.2     11.9     32.0    3.1      61.1      11.0      27.9
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  4.3     73.6      6.0     20.4    3.1      78.6       5.3      16.1
  Some college or associate degree .....................  4.4     76.6      4.9     18.5    3.2      81.4       4.5      14.1
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  4.2     65.1      2.5     32.4    3.7      83.6       3.1      13.4

Black, non-Hispanic ..................................... 3.6     54.5     11.3     43.2    3.0      67.4       9.9      22.8
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  2.8     35.2     17.4     47.3    2.3      43.9      14.0      42.1
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  3.6     54.7     12.6     32.7    2.9      67.0      11.1      21.9
  Some college or associate degree .....................  4.0     62.5     10.1     27.5    3.3      74.3       8.9      18.8
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  3.7     57.2      3.8     39.0    3.5      79.2       4.2      16.6

Hispanic or Latino .....................................  3.7     65.7      7.4     27.0    2.9      76.8       5.7      17.5
  Less than a high school diploma ......................  3.3     53.9     10.7     35.5    2.6      65.4       6.5      28.1
  High school graduates, never enrolled in college (1) .  3.8     65.8      8.4     25.8    2.8      76.0       6.9      17.2
  Some college or associate degree .....................  3.8	  70.9      6.2     22.9    3.0      82.1       4.9      13.1
  Bachelor's degree or more (2) ........................  3.5     66.4      3.5     30.2    3.2      79.7       3.4      16.9


   1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent (General Education Development (GED)) credential.
   2 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees or professional degrees, such as law or medical 
degrees.
   NOTE: This table excludes individuals who had not yet turned age 26 when interviewed in 2010-11.
Totals do not add to 100 percent due to a small number of respondents whose employment status cannot be determined for
all weeks. 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.