American Time Use Survey: Charts by Topic: Eldercare

Charts by Topic: Eldercare

Findings from the 2011 survey:

Of the 39.8 million eldercare providers in the civilian noninstitutional population, the majority (56 percent) were women. Eldercare providers are those who provided unpaid care to someone over the age of 65 who needed help because of a condition related to aging.
Individuals ages 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 were the most likely to provide eldercare (23 and 22 percent, respectively), followed by those age 65 and over (16 percent).
On average, 24 percent of eldercare providers cared for at least 1 eldercare recipient per day.

Eighteen percent of women and 15 percent of men provided eldercare to at least one person age 65 and over in 2011. (Data are from the 2011 survey.)

Eldercare providers who were not employed were more likely to provide eldercare on an average day than employed eldercare providers—32 percent compared to 19 percent. (Data are from the 2011 survey.)

On days they provided eldercare, women spent nearly an hour longer providing this care than did men, and eldercare providers who were not employed spent 1.5 hours more providing this care than did providers who were employed. (These data are averages for 2011.)

On days they provided eldercare, persons spent an average of 3.1 hours providing this care. Just over half of this time was associated with leisure activities (1.0 hour) and household activities (42 minutes). 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 eldercare can be associated with nearly any activity. (Data are from the 2011 survey.)

Last Modified Date: November 16, 2012