The number of voluntary sector employees doing part-time work because they cannot find full-time employment has increased by 21 per cent since March, according to new findings from the Labour Force Survey.

The Survey’s latest findings, which cover the period from March to June 2012, found that 18 per cent of the 289,000 part-time workers in the voluntary sector cannot find a full-time job.

The voluntary sector’s paid workforce slightly decreased by 0.6 per cent to a total of 775,000 at the mid-point of 2012.

In contrast, the number of voluntary sector workers employed on a temporary basis has increased by 18 per cent over the last 12 months to 98,000.

Keith Mogford, chief executive of Skills – Third Sector, which produced the survey with NCVO, says: “These findings show that while the numbers employed by the sector are beginning to stabilise, the working conditions in the sector are changing. Increasing flexibility of employment may well be a rational response to the current state of the economy and funding uncertainty.

"However, we are concerned that such changes may stifle the ability of employers in the sector to invest in the skills needed to overcome challenges over the long-term and to improve the strategic direction of their organisation.”