FEWER people are carrying out voluntary work, new research has revealed.
Just over a quarter of adults in Northern Ireland have performed any form of voluntary work in the past year - down from almost a third in 2015.
According to research by the Department for Communities (DfC) helping a church or religious organisation is the most common type of voluntary work. Almost four in 10 people had helped in this way in 2016, with fundraising for charity the next most common form of volunteering.
The top five voluntary activities were the same in 2015 and 2016 although church work has overtaken fundraising. The vast majority (85%) of those who volunteered felt their work was valued.
Time spent was also gauged, with just under a fifth of adults claiming they had not volunteered at all over the past four weeks while 43% had given up less than eight hours in the past month.
The Stormont department survey also tackled the reasons why people do not volunteer.
The top three excuses given were:
- not having time (36%)
- work commitments (32%)
- children to look after (24%)
One in 10 said they did not want to do volunteer, 16% said they could be persuaded if asked directly and 12% said they would get involved if a need arose in their community.
