The rate of volunteerism in the United States rose by half a percentage point in the year ended September 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Altogether, 26.8 percent of the U.S. population did unpaid work through at least one organization over the year, up 0.5 percent from 2010. The increase came after a decline of the same size between 2009 and 2010.
Women were more likely to volunteer than men, and people between ages 35 and 54 had the highest rates of volunteerism among the age groups.
