Bureau of Labor Statistics and US Census Report
"New Benchmark in Volunteer Service"

About the New Volunteer Service Indicator

On December 18, 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor released data that establish a new baseline for volunteer service activity among individuals living in the United States age 16 and over who volunteer with organizations such as schools, nonprofits, houses of worship, and hospitals.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has issued a press release and is making technical notes and data available online at www.bls.gov/cps. The following is background information from the USA Freedom Corps that may be helpful to those reviewing the newly released materials.

What is the volunteer service indicator?

The volunteer service indicator is a new national measurement of volunteer behavior developed by the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics with the USA Freedom Corps. The Census Bureau collected the data through a supplement to the September 2002 Current Population Survey conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to establish a baseline for national volunteer activity. That survey includes approximately 60,000 households nationally, and is designed to represent the civilian, non-institutional population of the United States. Basic labor force questions are regularly supplemented by questions related to a range of sociological and economic issues.

The September Current Population Survey included supplemental questions to assess the extent and nature of volunteer service in the United States. Questions were designed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau with input from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the non-profit organization Independent Sector, which provided valuable insights based on their experience in researching volunteer activity. The questions were designed to measure how many Americans are engaged in volunteer service, the frequency of their volunteer activity, the kinds of organizations with which they volunteer, the types of activities they choose, and barriers to service experienced by those who do not volunteer.

What does it tell us?

Findings related to the baseline data are described with detail in the materials released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those findings indicate that 27.6 percent of individuals (more than 59 million) over the age of 16 volunteered with a volunteer service organization between September 2001 and September 2002. The findings suggest that certain groups are more likely to volunteer, while others are more likely to volunteer more hours. The findings also offer information regarding what types organizations and activities enjoy support from different segments of the population. Finally they give us information on how much time people are dedicating to volunteer work, including data that more than 34 percent of those who volunteered did so for more than 100 hours during the past year.

Why was it developed?

Since the President issued his call to volunteer service and created the USA Freedom Corps in order to foster a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility, there has been a great deal of interest in measuring the impact of efforts to engage more Americans in volunteer service. Although sociologists have measured decreasing levels of civic participation over the past three decades, and organizations have worked to measure volunteer service trends, there is a well-recognized need for a reliable national measure of volunteer activity. Sociologists and researchers who have worked in this field for some time have expressed their desire to use the new Bureau of Labor Statistics data as a rigorous baseline and to conduct research that builds upon the data collected this year and to be collected going forward.

For the USA Freedom Corps, the volunteer service indicator creates a new standard for evaluating on an annual basis our efforts to stimulate long-term cultural change according to a rigorous objective standard.

How is it different from estimates of volunteer activity?

This new national measure of volunteer behavior stands alone in the field. Past efforts to measure behavior are not comparable. The sample size used (60,000 households), nationally representative sample reached, and high response rates achieved (more than 90 percent) through the Current Population Survey cannot be matched by other organizations that have worked to measure volunteer service in the past. The Census Bureau also used questions designed for this purpose and methodology that may not be consistent with those used by other organizations.

Although the Current Population Survey was used to measure volunteer service activity in 1965, 1974, and 1989, survey design and technology have changed significantly since that time, and even those measurements cannot be appropriately compared with the new volunteer service indicator.

How will the results be used?

Current plans include collection of volunteer service indicator data in September 2003, and in subsequent years as resources permit. As indicated above, the volunteer service indicator will allow the USA Freedom Corps to evaluate its efforts to engage more Americans in volunteer service. The USA Freedom Corps and Bureau of Labor Statistics are making the data available to nonprofit and community organizations, foundations, corporations, academics and the general public to help them understand trends in volunteer service and to use this information to stimulate more Americans to answer the President's Call to Service.

How can I get more information?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is making information regarding its Volunteering in America release available online at www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.toc.htm. Members of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Labor Force Statistics can answer specific questions or respond to specific requests for additional information by phone at (202) 691-6378 or by email at cpsinfo@bls.gov.

Members of the media may also contact the USA Freedom Corps at (202) 456-7381. The USA Freedom Corps also measures interest in national service programs and other volunteer programs supported by federal agencies such as the Citizen Corps programs.

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