The annual Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on volunteerism estimates that 4.4 million fewer Americans volunteered in 2006 compared to 2005. The 61 million Americans who said they volunteered in 2006 was the lowest number since 2001, the study noted.

Ironically, the report was released in conjunction with a commemoration of the five-year anniversary of President Bush's initiative to get more Americans to volunteer. In 2002, Bush called on all U.S. citizens to contribute 4,000 hours to charity during their lifetime, noted an article on the BLS report published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Experts said that more needs to be done to engage less-affluent youth in volunteer projects. Others noted that volunteer numbers may have been temporarily boosted in the aftermath of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. "It is pretty hard to keep sustaining the post-9/11 wave of volunteers," said John Bridgeland, a former director of the Freedom Corps, a government agency promoting volunteerism. "Many expected the numbers to fall off much sooner than they did."