For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, November 22, 2019					   USDL-19-2051

Technical information:	(202) 691-6339  *  atusinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/tus
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


			 UNPAID ELDERCARE IN THE UNITED STATES -- 2017-2018
			      DATA FROM THE AMERICAN TIME USE SURVEY


Sixteen percent of the civilian noninstitutional population age 15 and over or 40.4 million people
provide unpaid eldercare, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About one-fourth 
(26 percent) of eldercare providers engage in unpaid eldercare on a given day, spending an 
average of 3.4 hours providing this care. These estimates are averages for the 2-year period of 
2017-18.

Eldercare providers are defined as individuals who provide unpaid care to someone age 65 or older
who needs help because of a condition related to aging. This care can be provided to household or
nonhousehold members, as well as persons living in retirement homes or assisted care facilities. 
Eldercare can involve a range of care activities, such as assisting with grooming, preparing meals,
and providing transportation. Eldercare also can involve providing companionship or being 
available to assist when help is needed, and thus it can be associated with nearly any activity.

Information about eldercare providers and the time they spend providing care are collected as part
of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). The ATUS is a continuous household survey that provides 
estimates on how people spend their time. For a description of ATUS data, concepts, and 
methodology, see the Technical Note.

Eldercare providers in 2017-18

   --Of the 40.4 million eldercare providers in the civilian noninstitutional population age 15
     and over, the majority (58 percent) were women. (See table 1.)

   --Individuals ages 55 to 64 were the most likely to provide eldercare (24 percent), followed
     by those ages 45 to 54 (21 percent) and those ages 65 and over (18 percent). (See table 1.)

   --Fifty percent of eldercare providers had provided this care for 2 years or less, while 15 
     percent had provided care for 10 years or more. Forty-six percent of caregivers provided 
     care daily or several times a week. (See table 2.)

   --Thirty-nine percent of eldercare providers cared for someone age 85 or older, while 13 
     percent provided care for someone age 65 to 69. (See table 2.)

   --Compared with caregivers who were younger and older, eldercare providers ages 15 to 34 were
     more likely to care for a grandparent, and those ages 35 to 64 were more likely to care for
     a parent. (See table 3.) 

   --Fifteen percent of eldercare providers cared solely for someone with whom they lived, and 83
     percent cared solely for someone with whom they did not live. (See table 2.) Those who provided
     eldercare for someone in their household were more than three times as likely to provide 
     eldercare on a given day than those who provided care for someone living in another 
     household--65 percent compared with 18 percent. (See table 4.)

Time spent providing eldercare in 2017-18

   --On a given day, about one-fourth (26 percent) of eldercare providers engaged in eldercare. 
     Compared with those in other age groups, eldercare providers who were ages 65 and older 
     were the most likely to provide care on a given day (37 percent). (See table 4.)

   --On average over all days--including days they did and did not provide care--providers who
     cared solely for someone with whom they lived (6.1 million providers) spent 3.0 hours per 
     day providing care. (See table 4.)

   --Eldercare providers who cared solely for a parent spent an average of 1.2 hours per day
     providing eldercare (includes days they did and did not provide care). (See table 4.)

   --Eldercare providers spent an average of 3.4 hours in caregiving activities on days they 
     provided care. Providers who were not employed spent more time providing eldercare (4.1 
     hours) than employed providers (2.6 hours) on days they provided care. (See table 4.)

   --On weekend days they provided care, employed eldercare providers spent an average of 3.3 
     hours doing so. This compares to an average of 2.3 hours for employed caregivers who 
     provided care on weekdays. (See table 4.)

   --Women were more likely than men to provide eldercare on a given day--27 percent of female
     eldercare providers engaged in eldercare activities on an average day, compared with 24 
     percent of male eldercare providers. On days they provided eldercare, men and women spent 
     nearly the same amount of time providing this care (3.5 hours and 3.3 hours, respectively).
     (See table 4.)

Eldercare activities in 2017-18

   --On days they provided care, 36 percent of eldercare providers engaged in caregiving 
     associated with household activities, spending on average 36 minutes per day in these 
     activities. This includes 27 percent of providers who engaged in eldercare associated with
     food preparation and cleanup and 10 percent who provided eldercare associated with 
     housework. (See table 5.) 

   --Thirty-seven percent of eldercare providers engaged in caregiving associated with leisure
     and sports on days they provided care, spending 1.2 hours per day in these activities. 
     This includes 24 percent of eldercare providers who engaged in eldercare associated with 
     socializing and communicating, spending 26 minutes per day in these activities. 
     (See table 5.)

Eldercare providers who were parents with children under age 18 living at home in 2017-18

   --There were 8.2 million eldercare providers who were parents of children living at home. 
     Of these parents, about one-third (35 percent) had a child under age 6, and the remainder 
     (65 percent) were parents whose youngest child was between the ages of 6 and 17. (See 
     table 9.) 

   --Almost one-half (48 percent) of eldercare providers who were parents of children living at
     home provided care for their own parent. These persons sometimes are described as members 
     of the "sandwich generation," because they are in between two generations that require care.
     (See table 9.)

   --Most (82 percent) eldercare providers who were parents were employed, and 69 percent were
     employed full time. Eighty-nine percent of fathers were employed full time, compared with
     55 percent of mothers. (See table 9.)  

   --Fifteen percent of eldercare providers who were parents had no spouse or unmarried 
     partner present in the household. (See table 9.) 

   --Eldercare providers who were parents were less likely to provide daily care than the 
     overall population of eldercare providers (12 percent compared with 21 percent) but just
     as likely to provide care several times a week (23 percent and 25 percent, respectively). 
     (See tables 2 and 9.)

Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). The ATUS, 
which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a 
continuous survey about how individuals age 15 and over spend their time. In the 2-year 
period of 2017–18, approximately 20,000 individuals were interviewed for the ATUS; of these,
approximately 3,100 individuals were identified as eldercare providers. Data for the combined
years of 2017–18 were used to facilitate a more in-depth analysis of eldercare.   

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon 
request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Survey methodology   

   ATUS sample households are chosen from the households that completed their eighth (final) 
interview for the Current Population Survey (CPS), the nation’s monthly labor force survey. 
ATUS sample households are selected to ensure that estimates will be nationally representative
of the civilian noninstitutional population. One individual age 15 or over--referred to as the
designated person--is randomly chosen from each sampled household. This person is interviewed 
by telephone once about his or her activities on the day before the interview.  

   All ATUS interviews are conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. Procedures
are in place to collect information from the small number of households that did not provide a 
telephone number during the CPS interview.   

   ATUS designated persons are preassigned a day of the week about which to report. 
Preassignment is designed to reduce variability in response rates across the week and to allow
oversampling of weekend days so that accurate weekend day measures can be developed. Interviews
occur on the day following the assigned day. For example, a person assigned to report about a
Monday would be contacted on the following Tuesday. Ten percent of designated persons are 
assigned to report about each of the five weekdays. Twenty-five percent are assigned to report
about each weekend day. Households are called for up to 8 consecutive weeks (for example, 8 
Tuesdays) in order to secure an interview.

About the questionnaire   

   In the time diary portion of the ATUS interview, survey respondents sequentially report 
activities they did between 4 a.m. on the day before the interview until 4 a.m. on the day of 
the interview. For each activity, respondents are asked how long the activity lasted. For 
activities other than personal care activities (such as sleeping and grooming), interviewers 
also ask respondents where they were and who was in the room with them (if at home) or who 
accompanied them (if away from home). If respondents report doing more than one activity at a 
time, they are asked to identify which one was their main activity. If none can be identified, 
the interviewer records the first activity mentioned. After completing the time diary, 
interviewers ask additional questions, including questions to identify eldercare providers and
activities done as eldercare. Questions on eldercare were added to the survey in 2011.  

   After completing the interview, activity descriptions are assigned a single 6-digit code 
using the ATUS Coding Lexicon. The 3-tier coding system consists of 17 major activity categories,
each with multiple second- and third-tier subcategories. These coding lexicon categories are 
then combined into composite categories for publication. Descriptions of categories shown in this
release can be found in the Activity definitions section of this Technical Note. The ATUS Coding 
Lexicons can be accessed at www.bls.gov/tus/lexicons.htm.

Concepts and definitions

   Average day. The average day measure reflects an average distribution across all persons in 
the reference  population and all days of the week.

   Average hours per day. The average number of hours spent in a 24-hour day (between 4 a.m. 
on the diary day and 4 a.m. on the interview day) doing a specified activity.

   --Average hours per day, population. The average number of hours per day is computed using 
     all responses from a given population, including those of respondents who did not do a 
     particular activity on their diary day. These estimates reflect how many population members
     engaged in an activity and the amount of time they spent doing it.

   --Average hours per day, persons who did the activity. The average number of hours per day is 
     computed using only responses from those who engaged in a particular activity on their diary
     day.

   Condition related to aging. An ongoing ailment or physical or emotional limitation that 
typically affects older people, such as becoming more frail; having difficulty seeing, hearing, or
physically moving; becoming more forgetful; tiring more quickly; or having specific medical 
ailments that are more common among older adults. It also refers to existing conditions that 
become progressively worse as one ages.

   Diary day. The diary day is the day about which the respondent reports. For example, the diary 
day of a respondent interviewed on Tuesday is Monday.
 
   Eldercare. Eldercare is providing unpaid care or assistance to an individual who needed help 
because of a condition related to aging. This care can be provided by a family member or non-family
member. Care can be provided in the recipient’s home, the provider’s home, or a care facility such 
as a nursing home.

   Eldercare can involve a range of care activities, such as assisting with grooming and feeding, 
preparing meals, arranging medical care, and providing transportation. Eldercare also can involve
providing companionship or being available to assist when help is needed, and thus it can be 
associated with nearly any activity.

   Estimates of the time spent providing eldercare are derived by summing the durations of 
activities during which respondents provided care or assistance for an adult who needed help 
because of a condition related to aging. These estimates never include times the respondent 
reported sleeping, grooming, or engaging in personal care services.

   Eldercare provider. An individual who provided eldercare more than one time in the 3 to 4 
months prior to the interview day. The time frame varies slightly by respondent because the 
question asks about care provided between the first day of a given reference month and the 
interview day. Estimates are restricted to eldercare providers caring for at least one person 
age 65 or older.

Employment status

   --Employed. All persons who:

	1) At any time during the 7 days prior to the interview did any work at all as paid 
	employees, or worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm; or 

	2) Were not working during the 7 days prior to the interview but had jobs or businesses
	from which they were temporarily absent because of illness, bad weather, vacation, 
	childcare problems, labor-management disputes, maternity or paternity leave, job training,
	or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or 
	were seeking other jobs; or

	3) Usually worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise.

   --Employed full time. Full-time workers are those who usually worked 35 or more hours per week 
     at all jobs combined.

   --Employed part time. Part-time workers are those who usually worked fewer than 35 hours per 
     week at all jobs combined.

   --Not employed. Persons are not employed if they do not meet the conditions for employment. 
     People who are not employed include those classified as unemployed as well as those 
     classified as not in the labor force (using CPS definitions).

   Household children. Household children are children under age 18 residing in the household of 
the ATUS respondent. The children may be related to the respondent (such as his or her own children,
grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or brothers or sisters) or not related (such as foster children 
or children of roommates or boarders).

   Primary activity. A primary activity is the main activity a respondent was doing at a specified 
time. 

   Weekday, weekend, and holiday estimates. Estimates for weekdays are an average of reports about
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Estimates for weekend days and holidays are an average 
of reports about Saturdays, Sundays, and the following holidays:  New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial 
Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Data were not collected 
about New Year's Day in 2017.

Activity definitions

   The following definitions describe the activities associated with eldercare appearing in this 
release.  These are diary activities that survey respondents identified as ones during which they
had provided care or assistance for an adult who needed help because of a condition related to 
aging.  

   Eating and drinking. All time spent eating or drinking (except eating and drinking done as part
of a work or volunteer activity) is classified here.

   Household activities. Household activities are activities done by people to maintain their 
households. These include housework; cooking; lawn and garden care; pet care; vehicle maintenance
and repair; home maintenance, repair, decoration, and renovation; and household management and 
organizational activities (such as filling out paperwork or planning a party). Food preparation, 
whether or not reported as done specifically for another household member, is always classified as a
household activity unless it was done as a volunteer, work, or income-generating activity, or when 
done for a nonhousehold member. 

   Purchasing goods and services. This category includes time spent obtaining, receiving, and 
purchasing consumer goods, professional services, household services, and government services. 
Consumer purchases include most purchases and rentals of consumer goods. Professional services refer 
to financial services and banking, legal services, medical and adult care services, real estate 
services, and veterinary services. Household services include housecleaning; cooking; lawn care and 
landscaping; pet care; tailoring, laundering, and dry cleaning; vehicle maintenance and repairs; and
home repairs, maintenance, and construction. This category also captures the time spent obtaining 
government services--such as applying for food stamps--and purchasing government-required licenses or
paying fines or fees.

   Caring for and helping household members. Time spent doing activities to care for members of the 
household, regardless of relationship to the respondent or the physical or mental health status of the
person being helped, is classified here. This category includes a range of activities done to benefit 
members of households, such as providing physical and medical care or obtaining medical services.

   Caring for and helping nonhousehold members. This category includes time spent in activities done to
care for or help individuals who do not live in the household. When done for or through an organization,
time spent helping nonhousehold members is classified as volunteering, rather than as helping 
nonhousehold members.

   Working and work-related activities. This category includes time spent working, doing activities as
part of one's job, engaging in income-generating activities not as part of one's job, and job search 
activities. "Working" includes hours spent doing the specific tasks required of one's main or other job,
regardless of location or time of day. "Work-related activities" include activities that are not 
obviously work but are done as part of one's job, such as having a business lunch and playing golf with 
clients. "Other income-generating activities" are those done "on the side" or under informal arrangement
and are not part of a regular job. Such activities might include selling homemade crafts, maintaining a 
rental property, or having a yard sale. These activities are those for which people are paid or will 
be paid.

   Organizational, civic, and religious activities. This category captures time spent volunteering for or
through an organization, performing civic obligations, and participating in religious and spiritual 
activities. 

   Leisure and sports. The leisure and sports category includes time spent in sports, exercise, and 
recreation; socializing and communicating; and other leisure activities. Sports, exercise, and recreation
activities include participating in--as well as attending or watching--sports, exercise, and recreational
activities. Recreational activities include yard games like croquet or horseshoes, as well as activities 
like billiards and dancing. Socializing and communicating includes face-to-face social communication and 
hosting or attending social functions. Leisure activities include watching television; reading; relaxing 
or thinking; playing computer, board, or card games; using a computer or the Internet for personal 
interest; playing or listening to music; and other activities, such as attending arts, cultural, and 
entertainment events.

   Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail. This category captures time spent in telephone communication and 
handling household or personal mail or e-mail. This category also includes texting and Internet voice and
video calling.

   Traveling. This category includes all travel, regardless of mode or purpose, as well as security 
procedures related to traveling.

   Other activities, not elsewhere classified. This is a residual category intended to capture activities 
not elsewhere classified in each table. These might be ambiguous activities that could not be coded,
missing activities, or activities that occurred very infrequently. Missing activities result when 
respondents do not remember what they did for a period of time, or when they consider an activity too 
private or personal to report. This category includes a small amount of time that was spent in educational
activities, as no educational activities category appears in the tables.

Processing and estimation

   After ATUS data are collected, they go through an editing and imputation procedure. Responses to CPS 
questions that are re-asked in the ATUS go through the regular CPS edit and imputation procedures. Some
item nonresponses for questions unique to the ATUS also are imputed.

   ATUS records are weighted quarterly to reduce bias in the estimates due to differences in sampling and
response rates across subpopulations and days of the week. Specifically, the data are weighted to ensure 
the following:

   --Weekdays represent about 5/7 of the weighted data, and weekend days represent about 2/7 of the 
     weighted data for the population as a whole and for selected subpopulations. The actual proportions 
     depend on the number of weekdays and weekend days in a given quarter.

   --The sum of the weights is equal to the number of person-days in the quarter for the population as a 
     whole and for selected subpopulations (the population times the number of days in the quarter).

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the ATUS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather
than the entire population, is surveyed, estimates differ from the true population values they represent.
The component of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error,
and its variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate.

   Sample estimates from a given survey design are unbiased when an average of the estimates from all 
possible samples would yield, hypothetically, the true population value. In this case, the sample estimate
and its standard error can be used to construct approximate confidence intervals, or ranges of values that
include the true population value with known probabilities. If the process of selecting a sample from the 
population were repeated many times, an estimate made from each sample, and a suitable estimate of its 
standard error calculated for each sample, then approximately 90 percent of the intervals from 1.645 
standard errors below the estimate to 1.645 standard errors above the estimate would include the true 
population value. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

   The ATUS data also are affected by nonsampling error, which is the average difference between population
and sample values for samples generated by a given process. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, 
including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all 
respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and
errors made in the collection or processing of the data. Errors also could occur if nonresponse is 
correlated with time use.

   Nonsampling error and eldercare. Eldercare done for a spouse or partner may be underreported, especially
when the care provided has only recently become necessary. For example, a survey respondent who has always 
prepared the family dinner may not view cooking as an eldercare activity; if her husband is no longer 
capable of preparing his own meals, though, he depends on this assistance and it meets the definition of 
eldercare. 

   Additionally, nonsampling error affects data on the frequency of care. Survey respondents were asked how 
often they provided eldercare in recent months and whether they provided eldercare on the diary day. 
Information about care provided on the diary day was used to calculate daily participation rates. There 
are some inconsistencies between the reported frequency of care and the actual provision of eldercare on an 
average day. For example, in 2017–18, only 66 percent of eldercare providers who self-reported providing 
care "daily" actually provided eldercare on an average day. This discrepancy reflects some respondents' 
choice of "daily" rather than "several times a week" or another option to best describe their eldercare 
frequency, even while acknowledging they had not provided care on the diary day.

ATUS publication standards

   Estimates of average hours per day and participation rates are not published unless there are a minimum 
number of respondents representing the given population. Additional publication criteria are applied that 
include the number of respondents who reported doing a specified activity and the standard error or 
coefficient of variation for the estimate. Estimates that are considered "close to zero" or that round to 
0.00, are published as approximately zero. For a detailed description of the statistical reliability 
criteria necessary for publication, please contact ATUS staff at ATUSinfo@bls.gov.

Table 1. Number and percent of the U.S. population who were eldercare providers by sex and selected characteristics, averages for the combined years 2017-2018 [Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic	Total			Men			Women
	Civilian noninstitutional population	Eldercare providers		Civilian noninstitutional population	Eldercare providers		Civilian noninstitutional population	Eldercare providers
		Number	Percent of population		Number	Percent of population		Number	Percent of population
Age
Total, 15 years and over	260,550	40,422	15.5	126,096	16,986	13.5	134,454	23,436	17.4
15 to 24 years	42,186	4,310	10.2	21,266	1,903	8.9	20,920	2,407	11.5
25 to 34 years	44,271	3,831	8.7	22,037	1,560	7.1	22,234	2,271	10.2
35 to 44 years	40,262	4,614	11.5	19,734	2,020	10.2	20,527	2,594	12.6
45 to 54 years	41,511	8,674	20.9	20,294	3,494	17.2	21,217	5,180	24.4
55 to 64 years	41,903	10,147	24.2	20,159	4,290	21.3	21,744	5,857	26.9
65 years and over	50,417	8,846	17.5	22,605	3,718	16.4	27,812	5,127	18.4
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity(1)
White	209,411	33,633	16.1	102,266	14,410	14.1	107,145	19,224	17.9
Black or African American	32,343	4,853	15.0	14,742	1,876	12.7	17,602	2,977	16.9
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	43,006	3,490	8.1	21,378	1,322	6.2	21,628	2,168	10.0
Employment status
Employed	163,460	25,378	15.5	86,655	11,648	13.4	76,805	13,730	17.9
Full-time workers	128,075	19,229	15.0	73,043	9,194	12.6	55,032	10,035	18.2
Part-time workers	35,385	6,149	17.4	13,612	2,454	18.0	21,774	3,694	17.0
Not employed	97,090	15,044	15.5	39,441	5,338	13.5	57,648	9,706	16.8
Educational attainment, 25 years and over
Less than a high school diploma	20,027	1,528	7.6	9,977	678	6.8	10,050	850	8.5
High school graduates, no college	64,027	9,970	15.6	31,974	4,531	14.2	32,054	5,439	17.0
Some college or associate degree	51,993	9,140	17.6	23,730	3,618	15.2	28,263	5,523	19.5
Bachelor's degree and higher	82,317	15,473	18.8	39,148	6,256	16.0	43,168	9,217	21.4
Parent of household children under 18 years
Parent of one or more household children	67,605	8,211	12.1	30,397	3,221	10.6	37,208	4,989	13.4
Parent of a household child age 6 to 17, none younger	36,984	5,367	14.5	16,738	2,153	12.9	20,247	3,214	15.9
Parent of a household child under age 6	30,620	2,844	9.3	13,659	1,069	7.8	16,961	1,775	10.5
Not a parent of a household child	192,945	32,211	16.7	95,699	13,765	14.4	97,246	18,447	19.0
Marital status
No spouse or unmarried partner present in household	113,963	15,771	13.8	53,300	6,680	12.5	60,662	9,090	15.0
Spouse or unmarried partner present in household	146,587	24,651	16.8	72,796	10,306	14.2	73,791	14,345	19.4
Footnotes (1) Not all race categories are shown. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 2. Eldercare providers by sex and selected characteristics related to care provided, averages for the combined years 2017-2018 [Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic	Eldercare providers
	Total		Men		Women
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Total, 15 years and over	40,422	100.0	16,986	100.0	23,436	100.0
Parent of household children under 18 years
Parent of one or more household children	8,211	20.3	3,221	19.0	4,989	21.3
Parent of a household child age 6 to 17, none younger	5,367	13.3	2,153	12.7	3,214	13.7
Parent of a household child under age 6	2,844	7.0	1,069	6.3	1,775	7.6
Not a parent of a household child	32,211	79.7	13,765	81.0	18,447	78.7
Number of care recipients
Caring for one person	28,691	71.0	12,261	72.2	16,430	70.1
Caring for two persons	8,933	22.1	3,309	19.5	5,624	24.0
Caring for three or more persons	2,798	6.9	1,417	8.3	1,382	5.9
Relationship to care recipient
Total, all eldercare providers	40,422	(1)-	16,986	(1)-	23,436	(1)-
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner(2)	2,800	6.9	1,084	6.4	1,716	7.3
Caring for a parent	17,364	43.0	7,434	43.8	9,930	42.4
Caring for a grandparent(3)	5,888	14.6	2,240	13.2	3,648	15.6
Caring for another related person	9,952	24.6	4,564	26.9	5,389	23.0
Caring for a friend or neighbor	6,594	16.3	2,537	14.9	4,056	17.3
Caring for someone else	2,889	7.1	1,321	7.8	1,568	6.7
Eldercare providers caring for one person only	28,691	100.0	12,261	100.0	16,430	100.0
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner(2)	2,618	9.1	1,034	8.4	1,584	9.6
Caring for a parent	11,440	39.9	4,904	40.0	6,536	39.8
Caring for a grandparent(3)	4,464	15.6	1,771	14.4	2,693	16.4
Caring for another related person	5,920	20.6	2,742	22.4	3,178	19.3
Caring for a friend or neighbor	3,043	10.6	1,250	10.2	1,793	10.9
Caring for someone else	1,206	4.2	560	4.6	645	3.9
Age of care recipient
Total, all eldercare providers	40,422	(1)-	16,986	(1)-	23,436	(1)-
Caring for someone age 65 to 69	5,308	13.1	2,450	14.4	2,858	12.2
Caring for someone age 70 to 74	7,329	18.1	3,335	19.6	3,994	17.0
Caring for someone age 75 to 79	8,873	22.0	4,131	24.3	4,742	20.2
Caring for someone age 80 to 84	10,202	25.2	3,703	21.8	6,499	27.7
Caring for someone age 85 or older	15,924	39.4	6,288	37.0	9,636	41.1
Eldercare providers caring for one person only	28,691	100.0	12,261	100.0	16,430	100.0
Caring for someone age 65 to 69	3,168	11.0	1,483	12.1	1,685	10.3
Caring for someone age 70 to 74	3,942	13.7	1,886	15.4	2,056	12.5
Caring for someone age 75 to 79	4,994	17.4	2,363	19.3	2,631	16.0
Caring for someone age 80 to 84	5,736	20.0	2,085	17.0	3,651	22.2
Caring for someone age 85 or older	10,850	37.8	4,444	36.2	6,407	39.0
Care of household or nonhousehold members
Provided eldercare to household member(s) only	6,068	15.0	2,762	16.3	3,305	14.1
Provided eldercare to nonhousehold member(s) only	33,627	83.2	13,864	81.6	19,763	84.3
Provided eldercare to both household and nonhousehold person(s)	728	1.8	360	2.1	367	1.6
Frequency of care(4)
Provided care daily	8,428	20.8	3,464	20.4	4,963	21.2
Provided care several times a week	10,080	24.9	4,137	24.4	5,943	25.4
Provided care once a week	6,822	16.9	3,108	18.3	3,715	15.9
Provided care several times a month	8,070	20.0	3,359	19.8	4,711	20.1
Provided care once a month	4,598	11.4	1,922	11.3	2,676	11.4
Other	2,424	6.0	997	5.9	1,427	6.1
Duration of care(5)
Provided care for less than 1 year	9,527	23.6	3,634	21.4	5,893	25.1
Provided care for 1 to 2 years	10,810	26.7	4,218	24.8	6,592	28.1
Provided care for 3 to 4 years	6,360	15.7	2,935	17.3	3,424	14.6
Provided care for 5 to 9 years	7,821	19.3	3,405	20.0	4,416	18.8
Provided care for 10 years or more	5,904	14.6	2,793	16.4	3,111	13.3
Footnotes (1) Categories sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers cared for more than one person. (2) Care for a spouse or unmarried partner may be underreported. See the Technical Note for more information. (3) Refers only to persons caring for a grandparent who did not live with them. Persons caring for a grandparent with whom they lived are included in the category "Caring for another related person." (4) Survey participants were asked how often they provided care in the past 3 to 4 months; this information was used to categorize them by frequency of care. (5) For persons who provided eldercare to more than 1 person, the duration of care is calculated based on the person for whom they had cared the longest.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 3. Eldercare providers by relationship to care recipient and selected characteristics of eldercare providers, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Characteristic	Number of eldercare providers (in thousands)	Percent of eldercare providers caring for(1)
		A spouse or unmarried partner(2)	A parent	A grandparent(3)	Another related person	A friend or neighbor	Someone else
Age
Total, 15 years and over	40,422	6.9	43.0	14.6	24.6	16.3	7.1
15 to 24 years	4,310	(4)-	5.5	63.8	20.3	8.3	13.6
25 to 34 years	3,831	(4)-	22.9	48.6	15.8	12.3	11.1
35 to 44 years	4,614	(4)-	51.5	17.5	24.6	14.4	10.1
45 to 54 years	8,674	1.1	68.7	4.6	23.8	13.9	3.8
55 to 64 years	10,147	3.8	59.4	0.6	30.3	15.3	4.3
65 years and over	8,846	26.2	21.4	(4)-	24.9	26.5	7.2
Sex
Men	16,986	6.4	43.8	13.2	26.9	14.9	7.8
Women	23,436	7.3	42.4	15.6	23.0	17.3	6.7
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity(5)
White	33,633	6.9	42.9	14.7	23.7	16.3	6.7
Black or African American	4,853	6.7	42.1	14.4	30.1	16.6	11.0
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	3,490	3.1	38.0	17.5	23.3	19.6	11.9
Employment status
Employed	25,378	2.5	50.2	16.1	25.6	12.9	6.9
Full-time workers	19,229	1.6	54.5	14.4	25.5	12.5	6.2
Part-time workers	6,149	5.4	36.8	21.4	25.9	14.4	8.9
Not employed	15,044	14.4	30.7	11.9	22.9	22.0	7.6
Educational attainment, 25 years and over
Less than a high school diploma	1,528	9.3	(6)-	5.6	(6)-	27.4	8.3
High school graduates, no college	9,970	10.9	48.2	4.7	28.1	14.4	7.1
Some college or associate degree	9,140	7.7	46.7	10.2	22.4	21.2	6.4
Bachelor's degree and higher	15,473	5.6	48.6	10.6	25.2	15.8	5.7
Parent of household children under 18 years
Parent of one or more household children	8,211	0.1	47.8	20.1	26.1	15.1	6.6
Parent of a household child age 6 to 17, none younger	5,367	0.2	55.5	12.9	26.9	14.7	5.4
Parent of a household child under age 6	2,844	(4)-	33.2	33.7	24.5	15.8	9.0
Not a parent of a household child	32,211	8.7	41.7	13.1	24.2	16.6	7.3
Marital status
No spouse or unmarried partner present in household	15,771	1.4	40.2	23.3	16.1	19.7	10.7
Spouse or unmarried partner present in household	24,651	10.5	44.7	9.0	30.1	14.1	4.9
Footnotes (1) Categories sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers cared for multiple persons with whom they had different relationships. (2) Care for a spouse or unmarried partner may be underreported. See the Technical Note for more information. (3) Refers only to persons caring for a grandparent who did not live with them. Persons caring for a grandparent with whom they lived are included in the category "Another related person." (4) Estimate is approximately zero. (5) Not all race categories are shown. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. (6) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 4. Percent of eldercare providers who provided care on an average day and time spent providing this care by day of week and selected characteristics, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Characteristic	Number of eldercare providers (in thousands)	Percent of eldercare providers who provided care on an average day			Average hours per day eldercare providers spent providing care			Average hours per day eldercare providers spent providing care on days they engaged in eldercare
		Total, all days	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays	Total, all days	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays	Total, all days	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays
Age
Total, 15 years and over	40,422	25.7	24.6	28.3	0.87	0.79	1.04	3.37	3.22	3.68
15 to 24 years	4,310	11.4	(1)-	(1)-	0.22	(1)-	(1)-	1.89	(1)-	(1)-
25 to 34 years	3,831	17.4	15.7	21.5	0.31	(1)-	0.49	1.77	(1)-	2.27
35 to 44 years	4,614	17.5	15.9	21.4	0.55	(1)-	(1)-	3.13	2.47	(1)-
45 to 54 years	8,674	22.4	20.8	26.3	0.72	0.62	0.96	3.21	2.99	3.65
55 to 64 years	10,147	31.5	30.8	32.9	1.00	0.89	1.25	3.18	2.89	3.80
65 years and over	8,846	37.2	37.3	37.0	1.58	1.62	1.50	4.25	4.34	4.05
Sex
Men	16,986	23.7	22.5	26.5	0.82	0.72	1.05	3.45	3.19	3.96
Women	23,436	27.1	26.1	29.8	0.90	0.85	1.04	3.32	3.25	3.49
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity(2)
White	33,633	25.2	24.2	27.6	0.81	0.73	1.01	3.22	3.00	3.68
Black or African American	4,853	26.3	25.3	28.7	1.02	0.89	1.34	3.89	3.51	4.67
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	3,490	23.8	20.5	31.1	0.81	(1)-	1.19	3.40	3.09	3.84
Employment status
Employed	25,378	19.9	18.7	22.9	0.53	0.44	0.75	2.64	2.34	3.27
Full-time workers	19,229	18.9	17.7	21.8	0.49	0.36	0.78	2.58	2.06	3.58
Part-time workers	6,149	23.1	21.7	27.1	0.65	0.65	0.63	2.80	3.00	2.33
Not employed	15,044	35.5	34.9	36.9	1.44	1.41	1.51	4.06	4.04	4.08
Educational attainment, 25 years and over
Less than a high school diploma	1,528	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	0.98	(1)-	1.29	3.11	2.72	3.74
High school graduates, no college	9,970	33.4	34.7	30.5	1.39	1.46	1.25	4.17	4.20	4.09
Some college or associate degree	9,140	27.2	26.5	28.7	0.93	0.76	1.35	3.44	2.87	4.69
Bachelor's degree and higher	15,473	23.3	21.0	29.1	0.66	0.57	0.87	2.83	2.74	2.99
Parent of household children under 18 years
Parent of one or more household children	8,211	16.0	15.3	17.8	0.31	0.22	0.53	1.92	1.41	2.98
Parent of a household child age 6 to 17, none younger	5,367	16.4	14.4	21.3	0.32	0.19	0.62	1.95	1.34	2.93
Parent of a household child under age 6	2,844	15.3	17.0	10.8	0.28	0.26	(1)-	1.84	1.53	(1)-
Not a parent of a household child	32,211	28.2	27.0	30.9	1.01	0.94	1.17	3.58	3.49	3.78
Marital status
No spouse or unmarried partner present in household	15,771	25.3	23.8	29.0	0.90	0.83	1.08	3.56	3.48	3.72
Spouse or unmarried partner present in household	24,651	26.0	25.2	27.9	0.84	0.77	1.02	3.25	3.06	3.66
Number of care recipients
Caring for one person	28,691	27.5	26.3	30.5	0.98	0.86	1.25	3.56	3.28	4.12
Caring for two persons	8,933	21.0	19.7	24.1	0.63	0.66	0.56	3.00	3.33	2.34
Caring for three or more persons	2,798	21.9	22.9	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	2.13	(1)-	(1)-
Relationship to care recipient(3)
Eldercare providers caring for one person only	28,691	27.5	26.3	30.5	0.98	0.86	1.25	3.56	3.28	4.12
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner(4)	2,618	68.1	(1)-	66.4	3.74	3.75	3.72	5.49	5.43	5.61
Caring for a parent	11,440	31.1	28.6	36.5	1.15	0.95	1.58	3.70	3.32	4.33
Caring for a grandparent(5)	4,464	13.0	11.9	16.2	0.24	0.20	(1)-	1.88	1.68	2.34
Caring for another related person	5,920	19.8	19.7	19.9	0.40	(1)-	0.62	2.04	1.61	3.12
Caring for a friend or neighbor	3,043	15.0	15.7	13.4	(1)-	(1)-	0.19	2.30	(1)-	1.41
Age of care recipient
Eldercare providers caring for one person only	28,691	27.5	26.3	30.5	0.98	0.86	1.25	3.56	3.28	4.12
Caring for someone age 65 to 69	3,168	30.1	(1)-	30.0	1.21	0.79	2.24	4.03	2.62	7.47
Caring for someone age 70 to 74	3,942	28.3	25.3	35.5	0.83	(1)-	1.18	2.94	(1)-	3.31
Caring for someone age 75 to 79	4,994	25.5	25.0	26.7	0.75	0.57	1.28	2.96	2.29	4.80
Caring for someone age 80 to 84	5,736	27.8	26.7	30.3	1.24	1.17	1.38	4.45	4.39	4.55
Caring for someone age 85 or older	10,850	27.3	26.0	30.3	0.93	0.94	0.92	3.41	3.60	3.04
Care of household or nonhousehold members(3)
Provided eldercare to household member(s) only	6,068	64.8	62.5	69.6	2.99	2.76	3.47	4.61	4.41	4.99
Provided eldercare to nonhousehold member(s) only	33,627	18.2	17.9	18.9	0.46	0.44	0.53	2.55	2.43	2.82
Frequency of care(6)
Provided care daily	8,428	66.2	65.7	67.3	2.74	2.55	3.11	4.13	3.89	4.62
Provided care several times a week	10,080	29.6	30.8	26.6	0.76	0.82	0.61	2.57	2.66	2.29
Provided care once a week	6,822	11.4	9.3	17.2	0.19	0.14	0.32	1.67	1.55	1.87
Provided care several times a month	8,070	7.6	6.1	11.3	0.23	0.15	0.41	2.97	2.44	3.66
Provided care once a month	4,598	6.8	7.5	5.2	0.20	0.21	0.17	2.88	2.78	3.20
Duration of care(7)
Provided care for less than 1 year	9,527	18.6	17.6	21.4	0.61	0.58	0.71	3.30	3.29	3.31
Provided care for 1 to 2 years	10,810	26.7	25.9	28.9	0.98	0.90	1.17	3.66	3.49	4.05
Provided care for 3 to 4 years	6,360	26.0	25.4	27.3	0.72	0.65	0.89	2.77	2.57	3.25
Provided care for 5 to 9 years	7,821	29.4	29.5	29.2	0.96	0.87	1.18	3.28	2.94	4.03
Provided care for 10 years or more	5,904	30.2	27.1	36.7	1.10	1.02	1.27	3.64	3.76	3.45
Footnotes (1) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards. (2) Not all race categories are shown. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. (3) Not all categories are shown. (4) Care for a spouse or unmarried partner may be underreported. See the Technical Note for more information. (5) Refers only to persons caring for a grandparent who did not live with them. Persons caring for a grandparent with whom they lived are included in the category "Caring for another related person." (6) Survey participants were asked how often they provided care in the past 3 to 4 months; this information was used to categorize them by frequency of care. Corresponding time and percent estimates were measured using information about care provided on the diary day. Not all categories are shown. (7) For persons who provided eldercare to more than one person, the duration of care is calculated based on the person for whom they had cared the longest.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 5. Time spent providing eldercare and percent of eldercare providers engaging in caregiving by sex and caregiving activity, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Caregiving activity	Eldercare providers
	Percent distribution of time spent in selected eldercare activities			On days they provided care
	Total	Men	Women	Percent who engaged in caregiving activity(1)			Average hours spent providing care
				Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
Total, activities reported as care done for those age 65 and over	100.0	100.0	100.0	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	3.37	3.45	3.32
Eating and drinking	6.5	6.5	6.5	20.8	18.5	22.3	0.22	0.22	0.22
Household activities	17.8	15.0	19.7	35.7	35.3	35.9	0.60	0.52	0.65
Housework	4.6	2.5	6.0	10.3	6.3	12.8	0.15	0.09	0.20
Food preparation and cleanup	9.2	6.5	11.0	27.2	24.1	29.1	0.31	0.22	0.37
Lawn and garden care	1.6	2.3	1.1	3.2	5.7	1.6	0.05	0.08	(2)-
Household management	1.0	1.1	0.9	5.9	5.0	6.4	0.03	0.04	0.03
Purchasing goods and services	3.4	3.7	3.3	11.4	13.0	10.5	0.12	0.13	0.11
Caring for and helping household members	9.6	11.5	8.3	19.5	18.7	19.9	0.32	0.40	0.27
Caring for household adults	8.5	9.9	7.7	16.2	14.0	17.5	0.29	(2)-	0.25
Physical care for household adults	6.5	8.4	5.3	11.9	11.4	12.2	0.22	(2)-	0.18
Providing medical care to household adults	0.7	1.0	0.5	5.5	3.5	6.7	0.02	0.04	0.02
Helping household adults	0.8	1.6	0.4	4.4	5.3	3.8	0.03	0.05	0.01
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members	12.8	9.6	14.8	28.4	21.0	33.0	0.43	0.33	0.49
Caring for nonhousehold adults	5.6	2.5	7.7	10.2	4.3	14.0	0.19	0.09	0.25
Physical care for nonhousehold adults	3.3	2.1	4.1	5.4	2.2	7.5	0.11	(2)-	0.14
Providing medical care to nonhousehold adults	0.5	0.1	0.7	3.4	1.0	4.9	0.02	(2)-	0.02
Helping nonhousehold adults	6.8	6.7	6.8	23.2	18.1	26.3	0.23	0.23	0.23
Housework, cooking, and shopping assistance for nonhousehold adults	1.6	1.4	1.8	7.3	5.5	8.5	0.06	0.05	0.06
House and lawn maintenance and repair assistance for nonhousehold adults	1.4	2.8	0.5	3.1	5.1	1.8	0.05	0.10	0.02
Picking up and dropping off nonhousehold adults	0.6	0.5	0.7	8.6	5.9	10.2	0.02	0.02	0.02
Working and work-related activities	4.1	3.7	4.4	2.5	2.8	2.3	0.14	0.13	(2)-
Organizational, civic, and religious activities	1.5	1.5	1.6	3.3	4.2	2.7	0.05	0.05	0.05
Leisure and sports	35.3	40.1	32.1	36.6	36.9	36.4	1.19	1.38	1.06
Socializing and communicating	13.1	10.8	14.7	24.0	21.3	25.7	0.44	0.37	0.49
Watching TV	15.8	20.6	12.7	13.2	15.2	12.0	0.53	0.71	0.42
Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.0	0.6	1.3	(2)-	(2)-	(2)-
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	1.1	1.0	1.2	7.4	5.1	8.9	0.04	0.03	0.04
Traveling	6.3	5.8	6.6	26.5	24.3	27.8	0.21	0.20	0.22
Other activities, not elsewhere classified	1.6	1.7	1.6	3.9	3.4	4.3	0.06	(2)-	0.05
Footnotes (1) Percents sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers did more than one care activity on days they provided care. (2) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 6. Time spent providing eldercare and percent of eldercare providers engaging in caregiving by day of week and caregiving activity, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Caregiving activity	Eldercare providers
	Percent distribution of time spent in selected eldercare activities			On days they provided care
	Total	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays	Percent who engaged in caregiving activity(1)			Average hours spent providing care
				Total	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays	Total	Weekdays	Weekends and holidays
Total, activities reported as care done for those age 65 and over	100.0	100.0	100.0	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	3.37	3.22	3.68
Eating and drinking	6.5	5.7	8.0	20.8	18.9	24.8	0.22	0.18	0.30
Household activities	17.8	16.6	20.1	35.7	32.9	41.6	0.60	0.53	0.74
Housework	4.6	4.0	5.7	10.3	9.8	11.3	0.15	0.13	0.21
Food preparation and cleanup	9.2	9.3	9.0	27.2	24.3	33.2	0.31	0.30	0.33
Lawn and garden care	1.6	1.2	2.4	3.2	2.8	3.9	0.05	(2)-	0.09
Household management	1.0	0.9	1.1	5.9	6.3	5.0	0.03	0.03	0.04
Purchasing goods and services	3.4	3.3	3.7	11.4	11.3	11.7	0.12	0.11	0.14
Caring for and helping household members	9.6	10.9	7.2	19.5	19.2	19.9	0.32	0.35	0.26
Caring for household adults	8.5	9.5	6.7	16.2	15.2	18.1	0.29	0.31	0.25
Physical care for household adults	6.5	7.5	4.8	11.9	11.5	12.7	0.22	0.24	0.18
Providing medical care to household adults	0.7	0.9	0.4	5.5	6.0	4.4	0.02	0.03	0.01
Helping household adults	0.8	1.1	0.4	4.4	4.3	4.6	0.03	0.03	0.02
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members	12.8	14.9	8.9	28.4	31.1	22.7	0.43	0.48	0.33
Caring for nonhousehold adults	5.6	7.5	2.2	10.2	11.9	6.6	0.19	0.24	0.08
Physical care for nonhousehold adults	3.3	4.3	1.6	5.4	6.2	3.7	0.11	0.14	0.06
Providing medical care to nonhousehold adults	0.5	0.7	0.2	3.4	4.1	1.9	0.02	0.02	0.01
Helping nonhousehold adults	6.8	7.0	6.3	23.2	25.8	17.6	0.23	0.23	0.23
Housework, cooking, and shopping assistance for nonhousehold adults	1.6	1.6	1.7	7.3	8.5	5.0	0.06	0.05	0.06
House and lawn maintenance and repair assistance for nonhousehold adults	1.4	1.7	0.9	3.1	3.2	2.8	0.05	0.06	0.03
Picking up and dropping off nonhousehold adults	0.6	0.7	0.4	8.6	10.6	4.2	0.02	0.02	0.01
Working and work-related activities	4.1	5.2	2.2	2.5	2.8	1.9	0.14	(2)-	(2)-
Organizational, civic, and religious activities	1.5	1.1	2.3	3.3	2.4	5.1	0.05	(2)-	0.09
Leisure and sports	35.3	33.8	38.0	36.6	36.3	37.2	1.19	1.09	1.40
Socializing and communicating	13.1	13.0	13.3	24.0	24.0	24.0	0.44	0.42	0.49
Watching TV	15.8	14.2	18.7	13.2	11.4	17.1	0.53	0.46	0.69
Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation	0.3	0.3	0.2	1.0	1.1	0.8	(2)-	(2)-	(2)-
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	1.1	1.5	0.4	7.4	9.1	3.8	0.04	0.05	0.01
Traveling	6.3	6.0	6.8	26.5	27.3	24.7	0.21	0.19	0.25
Other activities, not elsewhere classified	1.6	1.2	2.4	3.9	3.5	4.8	0.06	0.04	0.09
Footnotes (1) Percents sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers did more than one care activity on days they provided care. (2) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 7. Percent of eldercare providers and time spent in caregiving on days they provided care by frequency of care and caregiving activity, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Caregiving activity	Percent of eldercare providers who engaged in caregiving activities, on days they provided care(1)				Average hours per day eldercare providers spent providing care on days they engaged in eldercare
	Total	Frequency of care(2)			Total	Frequency of care(2)
		Daily	Several times per week	Once a week or less		Daily	Several times per week	Once a week or less
Total, activities reported as care done for those age 65 and over	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	3.37	4.13	2.57	2.36
Eating and drinking	20.8	28.5	9.0	17.1	0.22	0.32	0.07	0.15
Household activities	35.7	48.1	24.3	16.5	0.60	0.90	0.25	0.22
Housework	10.3	16.1	4.0	3.2	0.15	0.26	(3)-	(3)-
Food preparation and cleanup	27.2	41.6	12.3	7.4	0.31	0.50	0.10	0.07
Lawn and garden care	3.2	2.5	4.9	2.1	0.05	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-
Household management	5.9	7.5	3.0	6.0	0.03	0.05	(3)-	0.01
Purchasing goods and services	11.4	11.5	12.2	10.3	0.12	0.13	0.10	0.09
Caring for and helping household members	19.5	30.8	8.8	2.3	0.32	0.47	(3)-	(3)-
Caring for household adults	16.2	27.5	4.7	0.3	0.29	0.44	(3)-	(3)-
Physical care for household adults	11.9	20.5	3.1	(4)-	0.22	0.34	(3)-	(3)-
Providing medical care to household adults	5.5	9.4	1.4	(4)-	0.02	0.04	(3)-	(3)-
Helping household adults	4.4	5.9	3.7	0.9	0.03	0.03	(3)-	(3)-
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members	28.4	16.5	41.5	(3)-	0.43	0.27	0.74	0.41
Caring for nonhousehold adults	10.2	7.7	16.3	8.3	0.19	0.13	(3)-	0.08
Physical care for nonhousehold adults	5.4	4.8	7.6	3.9	0.11	0.09	(3)-	(3)-
Providing medical care to nonhousehold adults	3.4	3.2	4.9	1.2	0.02	0.02	(3)-	(3)-
Helping nonhousehold adults	23.2	12.2	33.8	(3)-	0.23	0.13	0.33	0.33
Housework, cooking, and shopping assistance for nonhousehold adults	7.3	5.0	9.8	10.8	0.06	0.04	0.06	0.11
House and lawn maintenance and repair assistance for nonhousehold adults	3.1	1.4	4.4	4.8	0.05	(3)-	(3)-	0.05
Picking up and dropping off nonhousehold adults	8.6	4.3	15.4	10.7	0.02	0.01	0.03	0.02
Working and work-related activities	2.5	1.7	2.4	5.5	0.14	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-
Organizational, civic, and religious activities	3.3	3.0	1.5	7.0	0.05	0.06	(3)-	(3)-
Leisure and sports	36.6	37.1	38.7	32.1	1.19	1.59	0.77	0.66
Socializing and communicating	24.0	18.4	33.6	25.7	0.44	0.35	0.62	0.42
Watching TV	13.2	20.5	3.6	7.2	0.53	0.91	(3)-	0.13
Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation	1.0	1.8	0.1	(4)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	7.4	6.8	9.8	5.9	0.04	0.04	0.03	0.05
Traveling	26.5	22.2	31.9	30.6	0.21	0.19	0.20	0.30
Other activities, not elsewhere classified	3.9	5.4	1.6	3.3	0.06	0.06	(3)-	(3)-
Footnotes (1) Percents sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers did more than one care activity on days they provided care. (2) Survey participants were asked how often they provided care in the past 3 to 4 months; this information was used to categorize them by frequency of care. (3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards. (4) Estimate is approximately zero.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 8. Percent of eldercare providers who cared for one person only by age of eldercare recipient and caregiving activity, averages for the combined years 2017-2018

Caregiving activity	Percent of eldercare providers who cared for one person only, on days they provided care(1)
	Total	Age of care recipient
		65 to 74	75 to 84	85 or older
Total, activities reported as care done for those age 65 and over	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-	(1)-
Eating and drinking	22.8	21.1	24.9	21.9
Household activities	38.6	36.1	44.0	35.2
Housework	11.0	9.5	13.6	9.5
Food preparation and cleanup	30.3	23.4	37.4	28.2
Lawn and garden care	3.1	3.3	3.5	2.7
Household management	5.5	5.7	6.0	5.0
Purchasing goods and services	11.2	14.5	11.0	9.0
Caring for and helping household members	19.9	22.4	20.6	17.5
Caring for household adults	16.8	15.5	17.9	16.6
Physical care for household adults	13.2	12.4	12.9	14.1
Providing medical care to household adults	6.0	6.0	8.3	3.7
Helping household adults	4.2	8.4	2.6	2.9
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members	23.9	21.7	20.3	28.8
Caring for nonhousehold adults	9.8	15.1	8.3	7.6
Physical care for nonhousehold adults	5.3	8.3	3.8	4.6
Providing medical care to nonhousehold adults	3.1	4.7	3.8	1.4
Helping nonhousehold adults	18.4	13.3	16.2	24.2
Housework, cooking, and shopping assistance for nonhousehold adults	7.0	2.7	5.4	11.5
House and lawn maintenance and repair assistance for nonhousehold adults	1.9	0.8	3.3	1.3
Picking up and dropping off nonhousehold adults	6.7	8.8	7.1	4.8
Working and work-related activities	2.0	1.0	2.3	2.5
Organizational, civic, and religious activities	3.9	5.9	2.9	3.5
Leisure and sports	37.0	(2)-	34.5	40.5
Socializing and communicating	22.9	20.1	23.8	24.1
Watching TV	15.2	13.4	15.8	16.0
Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation	0.7	(3)-	0.3	1.5
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	7.0	6.2	6.1	8.4
Traveling	23.7	27.2	24.3	20.8
Other activities, not elsewhere classified	4.0	3.9	5.7	2.5
Footnotes (1) Percents sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers did more than one care activity on days they provided care. (2) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards. (3) Estimate is approximately zero.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.

Table 9. Number and percent of eldercare providers who were parents of household children under age 18 by sex and selected characteristics, averages for the combined years 2017-2018 [Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic	Eldercare providers with children under age 18 living at home
	Total		Men		Women
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Parent of household children under 18 years
Total, parent of one or more household children	8,211	100.0	3,221	100.0	4,989	100.0
Parent of a household child age 6 to 17, none younger	5,367	65.4	2,153	66.8	3,214	64.4
Parent of a household child under age 6	2,844	34.6	1,069	33.2	1,775	35.6
Employment status
Employed	6,741	82.1	2,982	92.6	3,759	75.3
Full-time workers	5,634	68.6	2,868	89.0	2,766	55.4
Part-time workers	1,107	13.5	114	3.5	993	19.9
Not employed	1,470	17.9	240	7.4	1,230	24.7
Marital status
No spouse or unmarried partner present in household	1,229	15.0	206	6.4	1,023	20.5
Spouse or unmarried partner present in household	6,981	85.0	3,015	93.6	3,966	79.5
Number of care recipients
Caring for one person	5,138	62.6	1,916	59.5	3,222	64.6
Caring for two persons	2,397	29.2	949	29.5	1,448	29.0
Caring for three or more persons	675	8.2	357	11.1	319	6.4
Relationship to care recipient
Total, all eldercare providers	8,211	(1)-	3,221	(1)-	4,989	(1)-
Caring for a spouse or unmarried partner(2)	9	0.1	(3)-	(4)-	9	0.2
Caring for a parent	3,924	47.8	1,774	55.1	2,149	43.1
Caring for a grandparent(5)	1,654	20.1	369	11.5	1,285	25.8
Caring for another related person	2,141	26.1	1,003	31.1	1,139	22.8
Caring for a friend or neighbor	1,242	15.1	518	16.1	724	14.5
Caring for someone else	545	6.6	141	4.4	404	8.1
Age of care recipient
Total, all eldercare providers	8,211	(1)-	3,221	(1)-	4,989	(1)-
Caring for someone age 65 to 69	1,310	16.0	519	16.1	791	15.9
Caring for someone age 70 to 74	2,257	27.5	1,043	32.4	1,215	24.3
Caring for someone age 75 to 79	2,273	27.7	914	28.4	1,359	27.2
Caring for someone age 80 to 84	1,970	24.0	676	21.0	1,294	25.9
Caring for someone age 85 or older	2,394	29.2	978	30.4	1,415	28.4
Care of household or nonhousehold members(6)
Provided eldercare to household member(s) only	460	5.6	148	4.6	312	6.3
Provided eldercare to nonhousehold member(s) only	7,613	92.7	3,040	94.4	4,573	91.7
Frequency of care(7)
Provided care daily	1,007	12.3	348	10.8	659	13.2
Provided care several times a week	1,850	22.5	673	20.9	1,177	23.6
Provided care once a week	1,745	21.3	671	20.8	1,074	21.5
Provided care several times a month	2,020	24.6	810	25.2	1,209	24.2
Provided care once a month	1,137	13.9	627	19.4	511	10.2
Other	453	5.5	93	2.9	359	7.2
Duration of care(8)
Provided care for less than 1 year	2,009	24.5	619	19.2	1,390	27.9
Provided care for 1 to 2 years	2,298	28.0	847	26.3	1,450	29.1
Provided care for 3 to 4 years	1,204	14.7	554	17.2	649	13.0
Provided care for 5 to 9 years	1,609	19.6	657	20.4	952	19.1
Provided care for 10 years or more	1,091	13.3	544	16.9	547	11.0
Footnotes (1) Categories sum to more than 100 percent because some eldercare providers cared for more than one person. (2) Care for a spouse or unmarried partner may be underreported. See the Technical Note for more information. (3) Estimate is less than 0.05 percent of the population. (4) Estimate is approximately zero. (5) Refers only to persons caring for a grandparent who did not live with them. Persons caring for a grandparent with whom they lived are included in the category "Caring for another related person." (6) Not all categories are shown. (7) Survey participants were asked how often they provided care in the past 3 to 4 months; this information was used to categorize them by frequency of care. (8) For persons who provided eldercare to more than 1 person, the duration of care is calculated based on the person for whom they had cared the longest.
NOTE: Eldercare providers are those who, in the previous 3 to 4 months, cared for someone with a condition related to aging. Estimates were calculated for persons who cared for at least one person age 65 or older. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.