Volunteering Up!

Both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate rose over the year ended in September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 63.4 million people, or 26.8 percent of the population, volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2008 and September 2009. In 2008, the volunteer rate was 26.4 percent.

These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to the September 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement was sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. Volunteers
are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization.

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups
The volunteer rate of women increased from 29.4 percent in 2008 to 30.1 percent in 2009, while the volunteer rate for men, at 23.3 percent, was essentially unchanged. As in previous years, women volunteered at a higher rate than did men across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics.

By age, 35- to 44-year olds and 45- to 54-year olds were the most likely to volunteer. Their volunteer rates were 31.5 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively, in 2009. Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in their early twenties (18.8 percent) and those age 65 and over (23.9 percent).

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate (28.3 percent)than did blacks (20.2 percent), Asians (19.0 percent), and Hispanics (14.7 percent). Of these groups, the volunteer rate of blacks and whites rose in 2009. Among blacks it rose by 1.1 percentage points, driven by an increase in the volunteer rate of black women.

Volunteer rates were higher among married persons (32.3 percent) than those who had never married (20.6 percent) and those with other marital statuses (21.5 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were substantially more likely to volunteer than were persons without children under 18 years of age, 34.4 percent compared with 23.9 percent.

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment were more likely to volunteer than were those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, 42.8 percent of college graduates volunteered,compared with 18.8 percent of high school graduates and 8.6 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.

Volunteering By Employment Status
During the year ending in September 2009, 29.7 percent of all employed persons volunteered. By comparison, the volunteer rates of the unemployed (22.9 percent) and those not in the labor force (22.6 percent) were lower. Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities—33.7 versus 28.7 percent.

From 2008 to 2009, those employed full time showed a large increase in their volunteer rate—from 27.8 to 28.7 percent. This was led by women employed full time, with an increase of 1.4 percentage points in their volunteer rate. Among men, the largest increase in the volunteer rate was among the unemployed; it rose from 17.0 to 18.2 percent over the year.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Report link