2006 STATISTICS IN VOLUNTEERING
September 2005 - September 2006

Reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
January 10, 2007

NOTE: Volunteers are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization. The following summary of results comes from a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian non-institutional population age 16 and over

VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES, 2006

About 61.2 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2005 and September 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

The proportion of the population who volunteered was 26.7 percent. This is 2.1 percentage points lower than the volunteer rate in each of the prior 3 years and slightly lower than in 2002, the first year for which comparable data are available.

These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to the September 2006 Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement was sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Volunteers are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian non-institutional population age 16 and over.

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups

Over the year ending September 2006, both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate were lower than in the previous year ending September 2005. About 30.1 percent of women and 23.0 percent of men did volunteer work in the year ended in September 2006, down from 32.4 and 25.0 percent, respectively, during the prior year. As in previous years, women volunteered at a higher rate than men across all age groups, educational levels, and other major characteristics.

Persons age 35 to 54 continued to be the most likely to volunteer (31.2 percent), while persons in their early twenties were the least likely (17.8 percent). While all age groups showed declines in volunteer rates from the prior year, the largest decline was among teenagers. The volunteer rate for females age 16 to 19 fell from 33.5 to 28.8 percent, and the volunteer rate for males of that age fell from 27.4 to 24.1 percent.

Whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate (28.3 percent) than blacks (19.2 percent) and Asians (18.5 percent). Among Hispanics or Latinos, 13.9 percent volunteered.

Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (32.2 percent) than those who had never married (20.3 percent) and those with other marital statuses (21.3 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were substantially more likely to volunteer than were persons without children of that age, 34.4 percent compared with 23.6 percent.

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment volunteered at higher rates than did those with less education. More than 4 in 10 college graduates volunteered, compared with about 2 in 10 high school graduates and less than 1 in 10 of those with less than a high school diploma.

Among employed persons, 28.7 percent had volunteered during the year ended in September 2006. By comparison, 23.8 percent of unemployed persons and 23.1 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 35.5 versus 27.3 percent.

Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering

Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2005 to September 2006. Men reported spending about 52 hours volunteering and women reported about 50 hours.

Median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high of 104 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for those 25 to 34 years old.

Number and Type of Organizations

Most volunteers were involved with either one or two organizations 68.5 and 19.8
percent, respectively. Individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to volunteer for multiple organizations than were those with less education. Parents also were somewhat more likely to volunteer for more than one organization than were persons without children under 18.

In 2006, the main organization the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year was most frequently religious (35.0 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational/youth service related (26.4 percent). Another 12.7 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or community service organizations.

Older volunteers were more likely to volunteer mainly for religious organizations than were their younger counterparts. For example, 44.7 percent of volunteers age 65 and over did their service mainly through or for a religious organization, compared with 30.1 percent of volunteers age 16 to 24 years.

Among volunteers with children under 18 years old, 46.1 percent of mothers and 36.5 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educational/youth service-related organization, such as a school or sports team. Volunteers without children under 18 were considerably more likely than parents to volunteer for other types of organizations, such as hospitals or other health organizations and social or community service organizations.

Main Volunteer Activity for Main Organization

When volunteers were asked the main activity they performed for their main organization, fundraising (10.9 percent) and tutoring or teaching (10.8 percent) were the most frequently reported. Men and women tended to engage in different main activities. Men who volunteered were most likely to engage in general labor (11.5 percent) or to coach, referee, or supervise sports teams (10.2 percent), while women volunteers were most likely to fundraise (12.5 percent), or tutor or teach (12.5 percent).

Educational attainment influenced the types of activities volunteers performed. College graduates were more likely than those with less education to provide professional or management assistance or to tutor or teach. They were least likely to collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food or to engage in general labor.

Parents were considerably more likely than those without children to engage in some types of volunteer activities that are frequently related to children, including coaching, refereeing, or supervising sports teams, tutoring or teaching, mentoring youth, and fundraising.

How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization

About 43 percent of volunteers became involved with their main organization after being asked to volunteer, most often by someone in the organization. A slightly smaller proportion, about 2 in 5 volunteers, became involved on their own initiative; that is, they approached the organization.