Voluntary sector workforce has fallen by 70,000

Governance | Kirsty Weakley | 9 Jan 2012

Employment in the voluntary sector has dropped by 8.7 per cent in the last year, according to the latest Labour Force Survey results.

This is the third consecutive quarter of decline for the sector workforce with the third quarter results for 2011 showing that the sector employs 723,000 people, compared with 793,000 in Q3 2010.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, blamed government spending cuts which, he said, "are hitting the voluntary sector disproportionately".

Over the past 12 months public sector employment has fallen by 4.3 per cent while private sector employment rose by 1.5 per cent.

Etherington said: “It is essential that government at all levels make cuts intelligently and with adequate notice, in accordance with the best value guidance for working with the voluntary sector.”

In September Etherington called on the government to reinstate the Future Jobs Fund as a way to support the sector.

Steeper decline for women

According to the findings, more women than men have been affected, with female employment in the sector falling by 10.2 per cent from 548,000 to 492,000 between Q3 2010 and Q3 2011.

Over the same period male employment decreased by 5.4 per cent, falling from 244,000 in to 231,000.

Falling pay

The survey also found that median pay in the sector had fallen by 2.8 per cent in contrast to the public and private sector where median pay increased. Median hourly pay for the voluntary sector fell from £10.29 to £10.

Keith Mogford, chief executive of Skills – Third Sector, said: “The reduction in average pay in the sector, when set against modest increases in both the private and public sectors, is a serious cause for concern.”

The Labour Force Survey is produced by the Third Sector Research Centre and the NCVO in partnership with Skills – Third Sector as part of an ongoing study into voluntary sector workforce trends.

Directory: National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) | Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC)
Who's Who: Keith Mogford | Sir Stuart Etherington

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.