Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 09-0078
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EST)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, January 23, 2009
VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES, 2008
About 61.8 million people, or 26.4 percent of the population, volun-
teered through or for an organization at least once between September
2007 and September 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Both the level and rate of volun-
teering were essentially unchanged from the prior year.
These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to
the September 2008 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. For more information about the volunteer supplement,
see the Technical Note.
Volunteering Among Demographic Groups
The volunteer rates of men, 23.2 percent, and women, 29.4 percent,
were about the same in the year ending September 2008 as in the prior
year. Women volunteered at a higher rate than did men across all age
groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics,
as in previous years. (See tables A and 1.)
Persons age 35 to 44 continued to be the most likely to volunteer
(31.3 percent), while persons in their early twenties were the least
likely (18.6 percent). The only age group with a significant change
over the year was 16- to 19-year-olds. The volunteer rate of this
group rose 1.4 percentage points in the year ending September 2008,
essentially offsetting the 1.9 percentage point decrease that occurred
in the prior year.
In the year that ended in September 2008, whites continued to volun-
teer at a higher rate (27.9 percent) than did blacks (19.1 percent) and
Asians (18.7 percent). The rate for each of these groups was either
unchanged or essentially unchanged from the prior year. Among Hispanics
or Latinos, 14.4 percent volunteered in 2008, up from 13.5 percent in
the year ending September 2007.
Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (31.6 percent) than
those who had never married (20.4 percent) and those with other mari-
tal statuses (20.9 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were
substantially more likely to volunteer than were persons without chil-
dren, 33.8 percent compared with 23.5 percent.
Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment volunteer-
ed at higher rates than did those with less education. Among persons
age 25 and over, 42.2 percent of college graduates volunteered, compar-
ed with 18.1 percent of high school graduates and 9.4 percent of those
with less than a high school diploma.
Among employed persons, 28.9 percent volunteered during the year
ending in September 2008. By comparison, 22.3 percent of unemployed
persons and 22.2 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--34.2 versus 27.8
percent.
Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering
Volunteers of both sexes spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer
activities during the period from September 2007 to September 2008.
Median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high
of 96 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 40 hours for
those 16 to 19 or 25 to 34 years old. The 20- to 24-year-old group
showed the largest over-the-year change in median hours volunteered,
increasing by 7 hours to a median of 48 hours. (See table 2.)
- 2 -
Table A. Volunteers by selected characteristics, September 2004 through September 2008
(Numbers in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|September 2004|September 2005|September 2006|September 2007|September 2008
Characteristic |---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |Percent| |Percent| |Percent| |Percent| |Percent
|Number|of pop-|Number|of pop-|Number|of pop-|Number|of pop-|Number|of pop-
| |ulation| |ulation| |ulation| |ulation| |ulation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sex | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Total, both sexes ............|64,542| 28.8 |65,357| 28.8 |61,199| 26.7 |60,838| 26.2 |61,803| 26.4
Men .......................|27,011| 25.0 |27,370| 25.0 |25,546| 23.0 |25,724| 22.9 |26,268| 23.2
Women .....................|37,530| 32.4 |37,987| 32.4 |35,653| 30.1 |35,114| 29.3 |35,535| 29.4
| | | | | | | | | |
Age | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Total, 16 years and over .....|64,542| 28.8 |65,357| 28.8 |61,199| 26.7 |60,838| 26.2 |61,803| 26.4
16 to 24 years ............| 8,821| 24.2 | 8,955| 24.4 | 8,044| 21.7 | 7,798| 20.8 | 8,239| 21.9
25 to 34 years ............|10,046| 25.8 | 9,881| 25.3 | 9,096| 23.1 | 9,019| 22.6 | 9,154| 22.8
35 to 44 years ............|14,783| 34.2 |14,809| 34.5 |13,308| 31.2 |12,902| 30.5 |13,016| 31.3
45 to 54 years ............|13,584| 32.8 |13,826| 32.7 |13,415| 31.2 |13,136| 30.1 |13,189| 29.9
55 to 64 years ............| 8,784| 30.1 | 9,173| 30.2 | 8,819| 27.9 | 9,316| 28.4 | 9,456| 28.1
65 years and over .........| 8,524| 24.6 | 8,712| 24.8 | 8,518| 23.8 | 8,667| 23.8 | 8,749| 23.5
| | | | | | | | | |
Race and Hispanic or Latino | | | | | | | | | |
ethnicity | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
White .......................|55,892| 30.5 |56,170| 30.4 |52,850| 28.3 |52,586| 27.9 |53,078| 27.9
Black or African American ...| 5,435| 20.8 | 5,879| 22.1 | 5,211| 19.2 | 5,010| 18.2 | 5,325| 19.1
Asian .......................| 1,832| 19.3 | 2,055| 20.7 | 1,881| 18.5 | 1,887| 17.7 | 2,022| 18.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity .| 4,102| 14.5 | 4,511| 15.4 | 4,212| 13.9 | 4,279| 13.5 | 4,662| 14.4
| | | | | | | | | |
Educational attainment (1) | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Less than a high school | | | | | | | | | |
diploma .....................| 2,718| 9.6 | 2,837| 10.0 | 2,615| 9.3 | 2,394| 9.0 | 2,427| 9.4
High school graduates, no | | | | | | | | | |
college (2). ................|12,709| 21.6 |12,594| 21.2 |11,537| 19.2 |11,379| 18.6 |10,998| 19.1
Some college or associate | | | | | | | | | |
degree ......................|16,414| 34.2 |16,452| 33.7 |15,196| 30.9 |15,468| 30.7 |15,519| 30.0
Bachelor's degree and | | | | | | | | | |
higher (3) ..................|23,880| 45.7 |24,517| 45.8 |23,808| 43.3 |23,799| 41.8 |24,620| 42.2
| | | | | | | | | |
Employment status | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Civilian labor force .........|45,896| 30.9 |46,872| 31.1 |43,579| 28.5 |43,405| 28.1 |44,313| 28.5
Employed ..................|43,886| 31.2 |44,894| 31.3 |41,861| 28.7 |41,708| 28.3 |42,131| 28.9
Full time (4) ...........|34,237| 29.6 |35,225| 29.8 |32,951| 27.3 |32,714| 26.9 |33,344| 27.8
Part time (5) ...........| 9,649| 38.5 | 9,669| 38.2 | 8,910| 35.5 | 8,994| 35.4 | 8,788| 34.2
Unemployed.................| 2,010| 25.6 | 1,978| 26.4 | 1,718| 23.8 | 1,697| 23.2 | 2,181| 22.3
Not in the labor force........|18,646| 24.7 |18,485| 24.4 |17,621| 23.1 |17,433| 22.3 |17,491| 22.2
| | | | | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
2 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
3 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
4 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
5 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to
totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of
January data. Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an
organization at any point in the year ending in September. See the Technical Note for further information.
- 3 -
Number and Type of Organizations
Most volunteers were involved with either one or two organiza-
tions--69.6 and 19.3 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 organi-
zation than were persons without children under 18. (See table 3.)
In 2008, the main organization--the organization for which the
volunteer worked the most hours during the year--was most frequently
religious (35.1 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational or
youth service related (26.0 percent). Another 13.5 percent of volun-
teers performed activities mainly for social or community service
organizations. (See table 4.)
Older volunteers were more likely to volunteer mainly for religious
organizations than were their younger counterparts. For example, 46.7
percent of volunteers age 65 and over did their service mainly through
or for a religious organization, compared with 30.8 percent of
volunteers age 16 to 24.
The types of main organization for which individuals volunteered
also varied by educational attainment. Volunteering mainly for
religious organizations decreased as educational attainment increased,
from 47.0 percent of volunteers with less than a high school diploma
to 32.1 percent of those with a bachelor's degree and higher. Volun-
teering primarily for educational or youth service organizations
increased with educational attainment. Of volunteers with less than a
high school diploma, 21.9 percent volunteered mainly for this type of
organization, compared with 27.8 percent of those with a bachelor's
degree and higher.
Among volunteers with children under 18 years old, 45.8 percent of
mothers and 40.6 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educa-
tional or youth service organization, such as a school or scouting
group. 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 com-
munity service organizations.
- 4 -
Main Volunteer Activity for Main Organization
The main activity volunteers performed for their main organization
was most frequently fundraising (11.4 percent) and tutoring or teach-
ing (10.1 percent). Men and women tended to engage in different main
activities. Men who volunteered were most likely to engage in general
labor (12.6 percent); coach, referee, or supervise sports teams (10.3
percent); or provide professional or management assistance (10.1 per-
cent). Female volunteers were most likely to fundraise (12.8 percent);
tutor or teach (12.0 percent); or collect, prepare, distribute, or
serve food (10.7 percent). (See table 5.)
Educational attainment influenced the types of activities volun-
teers 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; engage in general labor; or be an usher, greeter, or
minister.
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; and mentoring youth.
How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization
About 43.7 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, 40.8 percent, became
involved on their own initiative; that is, they approached the organi-
zation. (See table 6.)
