Topic Sheet - Employment

THE IMPORTANCE OF LONGITUDINAL SURVEYS
In a longitudinal study, the same people are
interviewed periodically over time. This type of
survey enables researchers to follow changes in
people’s lives and understand cause and effect
relationships.
For example, a researcher might what to know how
much of an earnings boost results from additional
job training or completing a college degree. Other
surveys that aren’t longitudinal have shown that
people who have received more training or education
tend to have higher earnings, but this may confuse
cause and effect: for example, an individual’s family
resources may cause them to have both more
training and higher earnings. A longitudinal survey
with the same participants can help disentangle

these effects by measuring what the individual
earned before and after receiving the training.
The NLSY97 is special because it has collected
information about you since young adulthood to
show how you have changed and how your skills
have developed. The survey gives researchers
the extra information needed to understand how
earlier events in your life affect things that happen
later as you age and grow.
And you are special because you have been part of
the NLSY97 since the beginning. If we interviewed
someone else instead of
you, we wouldn’t be able to
understand those important
cause and effect relationships.

HOW YOU
HAVE MADE
AN IMPACT
Over the years, your answers have reflected the
triumphs and challenges of your generation. Each
time you complete your interview, you make your
voice heard!
Your contributions have improved how researchers
and policy makers understand the important issues
that impact our nation’s economy and labor market.
Thank you for your continued participation!
Please contact us with any questions or comments:
Call: 877-504-1086
Text with your full name to: 312-835-1905
Email: [email protected]
Visit: www.bls.gov/respondents/nls/

NLSY97 findings about employment

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

DATA COLLECTED:

DATA COLLECTED:

We ask about job earnings in the form of
wages, salary, commissions, or tips.

We ask if you have ever owned or operated
a business.

In a recent interview, 83 percent of
respondents reported receiving income from
a job in the past year, including temporary or
seasonal work.

In a previous interview, 11 percent of
respondents said they owned a business or
were self-employed in jobs that also operated as
businesses, such as an independent contractors.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

A recent study used NLSY97 data to
understand the employment outcomes of
boomerang movers, individuals who move back
in with their parents after living on their own.
Results showed that boomerang movers had
lower earnings potential and less job security
compared with their independent peers.
Choi, Seungbee. “After Moving Back to the
Nest: The Heterogeneous Effect of Returning to
Parental Home on the Employment Outcomes
by Income Group.” Cities 133 (February 2023):
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104114

In a recent study, researchers defined
entrepreneurship using NLSY97 employment
data about business ownership. Using
additional respondent health information, they
found positive and long-lasting links between
entrepreneurship and overall physical and mental
health.
Zhou, Jinyi, Jong Gyu Park, and Yawen Li. “Achieve
a Better Shape of Life: How Entrepreneurship Gears
Up Life-time Well-being.” International Journal
of Manpower published online (23 March 2022):
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-04-2021-0215.

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

We ask if your primary job is covered by a contract
that was negotiated by a union or employee
association.

DATA COLLECTED:

In the 2009 interview, 14 percent of respondents
reported that their primary job was covered by a
union or employee contract compared to
17 percent in the 2019 interview.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

Researchers used NLSY97 employment data to
examine the relationship between union status and
job satisfaction. They found that in the years prior to
the Great Recession, union workers tended to have
lower satisfaction with their jobs than their nonunion peers, but after the recession they had higher
job satisfaction.
Artz, Benjamin, David G. Blanchflower and Alex
Bryson. “Unions Increase Job Satisfaction in the United
States.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
203 (November 2022): 173-188:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.09.007

YOUR PARTICIPATION:

We ask about your work status and type
of occupation.

DATA COLLECTED:

In the 2009 interview, 4.9 percent of
respondents reported being a teacher as their
primary occupation compared to 4.6 percent in
the 2019 interview.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED:

A study used NLSY97 data to understand the
exit and reentry of individuals within the field of
teaching. The study found that approximately
one-fifth of those who left teaching between
2000-2019 returned to teaching. The results
demonstrated a lower return rate when
compared with an earlier cohort of teachers.
Moyer, Anna. “Has ‘Who Comes Back’ Changed?
Teacher Reentry 2000-2019.” Educational Researcher
published online (24 October 2022): https://doi.
org/10.3102/0013189X221122746