December 19, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Volunteering in the U.S.

About 59 million people did volunteer work at some point from September 2001 to September 2002. Slightly more than 1 in 4 persons age 16 and over volunteered.

Volunteer rates, September 2002 (percent)
[Chart data—TXT]

The incidence of volunteering was higher among women (31.1 percent) than among men (23.8 percent). This relationship held across age groups, education levels, and other major characteristics.

These data are from a supplement to the September 2002 Current Population Survey. Find out more in "Volunteering in the United States," news release USDL 02-686.

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