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By RACHEL ADAIR
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report indicating the number of unemployed
volunteers increased by .3 percentage points to 14.1%, a number not seen since 1933. Experts
expected the percentage of unemployed volunteers to drop .2% to a seasonally-adjusted 13.6%.
Most analysts agree that the high unemployment rate is the biggest factor in causing the even-higher
volunteer unemployment rate. Says Ian Clark, an analyst at Goldman Sachs who tracks the volunteer
unemployment rate, “there’s just not enough bake sales or soup kitchens that need unpaid
workers…there so many unemployed people who are already volunteering…they only make things
worse”
The number of unemployed volunteers has caused a variety of problems for non-profit organizations
that, until recently, were begging for people to donate their time. One particular problem occurs at
homeless shelters, where tenants are becoming annoyed at the excessive amount of care and
attention that they receive. Floyd Benson, a homeless man who spent the last 10 days at the Change
the Streets men’s shelter in Seattle, WA, said “I had three volunteers assigned just to me for the past
2 weeks making sure that my every need and request was fulfilled…..I mean, give me a break, how
much help do you think I need?”
The excessive number of volunteers puts a strain on human resources departments in particular,
who are responsible for personnel issues involving volunteers. Jerry Greenleaf, the HR manager at a
Ohio hospital, explains that “it’s really getting close to the point where I’m going to have to start
firing some of the volunteers...there’s so many of them…we have standing room only in some wards
and in others we may be exceeding the number of people allowed in certain rooms by local fire
codes.”
Some volunteers are so desperate to give their time that they are offering a negative wage in order to
become involved. Said Shirley Laurence, the manager of a Tennessee food bank who has more
volunteers than people to whom they provide food for, “I’ve already received six calls today from
people offering to pay the federal minimum wage just to give their time…I’ve had to turn them all
away, we just don’t have the resources to receive those kinds of resources.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report indicating the number of unemployed
volunteers increased by .3 percentage points to 14.1%, a number not seen since 1933. Experts
expected the percentage of unemployed volunteers to drop .2% to a seasonally-adjusted 13.6%.
Most analysts agree that the high unemployment rate is the biggest factor in causing the even-higher
volunteer unemployment rate. Says Ian Clark, an analyst at Goldman Sachs who tracks the volunteer
unemployment rate, “there’s just not enough bake sales or soup kitchens that need unpaid
workers…there so many unemployed people who are already volunteering…they only make things
worse”
The number of unemployed volunteers has caused a variety of problems for non-profit organizations
that, until recently, were begging for people to donate their time. One particular problem occurs at
homeless shelters, where tenants are becoming annoyed at the excessive amount of care and
attention that they receive. Floyd Benson, a homeless man who spent the last 10 days at the Change
the Streets men’s shelter in Seattle, WA, said “I had three volunteers assigned just to me for the past
2 weeks making sure that my every need and request was fulfilled…..I mean, give me a break, how
much help do you think I need?”
The excessive number of volunteers puts a strain on human resources departments in particular,
who are responsible for personnel issues involving volunteers. Jerry Greenleaf, the HR manager at a
Ohio hospital, explains that “it’s really getting close to the point where I’m going to have to start
firing some of the volunteers...there’s so many of them…we have standing room only in some wards
and in others we may be exceeding the number of people allowed in certain rooms by local fire
codes.”
Some volunteers are so desperate to give their time that they are offering a negative wage in order to
become involved. Said Shirley Laurence, the manager of a Tennessee food bank who has more
volunteers than people to whom they provide food for, “I’ve already received six calls today from
people offering to pay the federal minimum wage just to give their time…I’ve had to turn them all
away, we just don’t have the resources to receive those kinds of resources.”
