LABOUR FORCE STATUS
It is often assumed that labour force status may be related to the likelihood of volunteering, where one might expect employment in paid work to limit the time available for voluntary work. Interestingly, the GSS data does not support this.
The total volunteer rate for employed people (40%) was higher than for those not in the labour force (31%) and double that of unemployed people (20%). For sport and physical recreation organisations, the volunteer rate for employed people (17%) was more than double the rate for those not in the labour force (7%) and more than four times higher than for unemployed people (4%).
There were also some differences in the rates of volunteering according to labour force status when sex was taken into account. Of the 2.8 million male volunteers, 44% of these volunteered for sport and physical recreation organisations, compared with 32% of the 3.2 million female volunteers. Overall, employed females had a higher volunteer rate for organisations not involved in sport and physical recreation than employed males (27% and 20% respectively). The sport and physical recreation organisation volunteer rate for males employed full-time (19%) was greater than the rate for males employed part-time (11%). Conversely, females employed full-time had a sport and physical recreation organisation volunteer rate of 14% compared with 19% by those employed part-time.
4.6 Sport and Physical Recreation and Other Volunteers, By labour force status |
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| | | | Sport & physical recreation organisation(s) only | Sport & physical recreation and other organisation(s) | Total sport & physical recreation organisation(s) | Other organisation(s) only | Total volunteers | Not a volunteer | Total persons aged 18 years & over |
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Volunteers ('000) | | | | | | | |
| Males | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 565.3 | 502.5 | 1 067.7 | 1 167.1 | 2 234.9 | 3 716.6 | 5 951.4 |
| | | Employed full-time | 512.4 | 451.7 | 964.1 | 975.4 | 1 939.5 | 3 090.7 | 5 030.2 |
| | | Employed part-time | *52.8 | *50.8 | *103.6 | 191.7 | 295.4 | 625.8 | 921.2 |
| | Unemployed | **1.7 | **7.2 | **8.9 | *27.8 | *36.7 | 209.5 | 246.2 |
| | Not in the labour force | *87.6 | 80.9 | 168.5 | 404.9 | 573.4 | 1 510.8 | 2 084.2 |
| | Total | 654.6 | 590.5 | 1 245.1 | 1 599.9 | 2 845.0 | 5 436.9 | 8 281.8 |
| Females | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 294.1 | 493.8 | 787.8 | 1 301.6 | 2 089.5 | 2 818.5 | 4 908.0 |
| | | Employed full-time | 137.5 | 224.6 | 362.1 | 603.3 | 965.4 | 1 662.5 | 2 627.9 |
| | | Employed part-time | 156.6 | 269.2 | 425.7 | 698.3 | 1 124.1 | 1 156.0 | 2 280.1 |
| | Unemployed | **3.2 | **6.8 | *10.0 | *52.8 | *62.8 | 197.9 | 260.6 |
| | Not in the labour force | *102.3 | 122.5 | 224.8 | 862.2 | 1 087.0 | 2 250.7 | 3 337.7 |
| | Total | 399.6 | 623.0 | 1 022.6 | 2 216.6 | 3 239.3 | 5 267.1 | 8 506.3 |
| Persons | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 859.3 | 996.2 | 1 855.6 | 2 468.8 | 4 324.3 | 6 535.0 | 10 859.4 |
| | | Employed full-time | 649.9 | 676.2 | 1 326.2 | 1 578.7 | 2 904.9 | 4 753.2 | 7 658.1 |
| | | Employed part-time | 209.4 | 320.0 | 529.4 | 890.0 | 1 419.4 | 1 781.8 | 3 201.3 |
| | Unemployed | *4.9 | *14.0 | *18.9 | *80.6 | 99.5 | 407.3 | 506.8 |
| | Not in the labour force | 189.9 | 203.3 | 393.3 | 1 267.1 | 1 660.4 | 3 761.6 | 5 422.0 |
| | Total | 1 054.2 | 1 213.6 | 2 267.7 | 3 816.5 | 6 084.2 | 10 703.9 | 16 788.2 |
Volunteer rate (%) | | | | | | | |
| Males | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 9.5 | 8.4 | 17.9 | 19.6 | 37.6 | 62.4 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed full-time | 10.2 | 9.0 | 19.2 | 19.4 | 38.6 | 61.4 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed part-time | *5.7 | *5.5 | *11.2 | 20.8 | 32.1 | 67.9 | 100.0 |
| | Unemployed | **0.7 | **2.9 | **3.6 | *11.3 | *14.9 | 85.1 | 100.0 |
| | Not in the labour force | *4.2 | 3.9 | 8.1 | 19.4 | 27.5 | 72.5 | 100.0 |
| | Total | 7.9 | 7.1 | 15.0 | 19.3 | 34.4 | 65.6 | 100.0 |
| Females | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 6.0 | 10.1 | 16.1 | 26.5 | 42.6 | 57.4 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed full-time | 5.2 | 8.5 | 13.8 | 23.0 | 36.7 | 63.3 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed part-time | 6.9 | 11.8 | 18.7 | 30.6 | 49.3 | 50.7 | 100.0 |
| | Unemployed | **1.2 | **2.6 | *3.8 | *20.3 | *24.1 | 75.9 | 100.0 |
| | Not in the labour force | *3.1 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 25.8 | 32.6 | 67.4 | 100.0 |
| | Total | 4.7 | 7.3 | 12.0 | 26.1 | 38.1 | 61.9 | 100.0 |
| Persons | | | | | | | |
| | Employed | 7.9 | 9.2 | 17.1 | 22.7 | 39.8 | 60.2 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed full-time | 8.5 | 8.8 | 17.3 | 20.6 | 37.9 | 62.1 | 100.0 |
| | | Employed part-time | 6.5 | 10.0 | 16.5 | 27.8 | 44.3 | 55.7 | 100.0 |
| | Unemployed | *1.0 | *2.8 | *3.7 | 15.9 | 19.6 | 80.4 | 100.0 |
| | Not in the labour force | 3.5 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 23.4 | 30.6 | 69.4 | 100.0 |
| | Total | 6.3 | 7.2 | 13.5 | 22.7 | 36.2 | 63.8 | 100.0 |
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* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution |
** estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use |