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_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES -- 2013 [25 February 2014]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf

[full-text, 12 pages]

 

The volunteer rate declined by 1.1 percentage points to 25.4 percent for the year ending

in September 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 62.6 million

people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2012

and September 2013. The volunteer rate in 2013 was the lowest it has been since the

supplement was first administered in 2002.

 

These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to the September 2013

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 for 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. For more information

about the volunteer supplement, see the Technical Note.

 

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups

 

The volunteer rates for both men and women (22.2 percent and 28.4 percent, respectively)

declined the year ending in September 2013. Women continued to volunteer at a higher rate

than did men across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic

characteristics. (See tables A and 1.)

 

By age, 35- to 44-year-olds were most likely to volunteer (30.6 percent). Volunteer rates

were lowest among 20- to 24-year-olds (18.5 percent). For persons 45 years and over, the

volunteer rate tapered off as age increased. Teens (16- to 19-year-olds) had a volunteer

rate of 26.2 percent.

 

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate

(27.1 percent) than did blacks (18.5 percent), Asians (19.0 percent), and Hispanics

(15.5 percent). Of these groups, the volunteer rate fell for whites (by 0.7 percentage

point) and blacks (by 2.6 percentage points) in 2013. The volunteer rates for Asians and

Hispanics were little changed.

 

Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (30.7 percent) in 2013 than did those who had

never married (20.0 percent) and those with other marital statuses (20.5 percent). The

rates declined over the year for each marital status category. In 2013, the volunteer rate

of parents with children under age 18 (32.9 percent) remained higher than the rate for

persons without children (22.7 percent). The volunteer rate of persons without children

under age 18 declined over the year, while the rate for parents was little changed.

 

Individuals with higher levels of education engaged in volunteer activities at higher rates

than did those with less education in 2013. Among persons age 25 and over, 39.8 percent of

college graduates volunteered, compared with 27.7 percent of persons with some college or

an associate’s degree, 16.7 percent of high school graduates, and 9.0 percent of those with

less than a high school diploma. The rate of volunteering was about unchanged for people

with less than a high school diploma, while the rate declined for persons in all other

educational attainment categories.

 

Volunteers by Employment Status

 

Among employed persons, 27.7 percent volunteered during the year ending in September 2013.

By comparison, 24.1 percent of unemployed persons and 21.9 percent of those not in the

labor force volunteered. Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than

full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities--31.7 percent, compared

with 26.8 percent. The volunteer rate was little changed among unemployed persons but

declined for the employed and those not in the labor force. (See table 1.)

 

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....

 

 

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