Elder Care Information

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the American Time Use Survey this past week, and there are some incredible figures regarding family caregivers.

According to The New York Times, this survey was started in 2003, and the numbers are based on the minute by minute activities of Americans during a specific 24-hour period. This is the first year that elder care data was collected, and here is what they found:

39.8 million people over the age of 15 acted as unpaid caregivers to someone over 65.

22.3 million ( or 56%) of these caregivers were women.

 23% of these caregivers were between the ages of 45 to 54.

22% of these caregivers were between the ages of 55 to 65.

16% of these caregivers were 65 and older.

23% of these caregivers were part of the sandwich generation, and cared for a child under 18 in addition to fulfilling their elder care duties.

This data was taken in 2011. With the first baby boomers beginning to retire, it will be interesting to see which areas increase during the next year. What do you think this means for the future of caregiving? What surprise you most about this data?

You can find the New York Times article here, and more statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics here.