Related Resources (right column):

How Volunteering Can Help You Get Experience And A Job

Many career counselors recommend volunteering, in part to gain work experience. New surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shed light on who volunteers, what they do, and how often they do it.

According to BLS, 29 percent of people over age 16 volunteered between September 2002 and September 2003. Teens aged 16 to 19 were slightly ahead of that average, with a volunteer rate of almost 30 percent. The most common volunteer activities for teenagers were coaching, tutoring, or teaching; providing labor; and fundraising or selling items to raise money. But some teens performed more unique work: 6 percent provided professional or management services, such as serving on a planning committee; 19 percent did artistic work; and 5 percent gave counseling, medical, or protective services. Overall, teens worked a median of 40 volunteer hours over the year.

Young adults aged 20 to 24 had a volunteer rate of 20 percent. Adults aged 35 to 44 volunteered most often; those 65 and over volunteered least often, but the ones who did led all volunteers in the number of hours donated.

Overall, people were more likely to volunteer if they were college graduates, married, the parents of children under age 18, or working part time.

Offering another look at volunteerism is the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 from the U.S. Department of Education’s NCES, which focuses on the volunteer activities of teenagers and young adults. The survey follows the volunteer activity of people who were high school seniors in 1992. Within that group, 46 percent of people volunteered in high school: 38 percent did so freely, with 18 percent required to give of their time and talents. Mirroring the results of the BLS survey, the study shows that volunteering decreased dramatically 2 years and 8 years after graduation.

People who volunteered in high school were more likely to volunteer as adults, but this result held only for those who had volunteered freely. Those who were required to volunteer had adult rates that were nearly identical to rates for people who had not volunteered.

Students in the highest socioeconomic category had the highest rates of volunteering in high school and later. Those in the lowest socioeconomic category had the lowest rates, but the gap narrowed over time.

The results of the BLS survey, "Volunteering in the United States, 2003," are available by calling (202) 691-5902; they are also online at www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.toc.htm. The NCES survey, "Volunteer Service by Young People from High School through Early Adulthood," is available by calling toll-free, 1 (877) 4-ED-PUBS (433-7827), or visiting online at nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004365.pdf.

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Summer 2004 Vol. 48, Number 2 , Grab Bag

Last Updated: October 15, 2004

This entry was posted on Monday, November 28th, 2005 at 11:30 am and is filed under Job Reports and Employment Statistics. Both comments and pings are currently closed.