The voluntary’s sector paid workforce grew by 6 per cent during 2012, according to latest figures from the Labour Force Survey.

The most recent analysis in the Labour Force Survey shows a total of 804,000 paid employees in the sector, the second highest total since records began.

An extra 45,000 individuals joined the voluntary sector workforce over the 12 months to December 2012. The vast majority of this group is men (42,000), while there was a decrease in the proportion of the workforce which is female by 3.5 per cent over the 12 months to December 2012. Overall, female employees account for nearly two-thirds (65.4 per cent) of the voluntary sector workforce.

Part-time employees represent over a third (36.6 per cent) of the voluntary sector workforce. And the numbers doing so because they could not find full-time employment increased by 29 per cent over 2011/12. Further, the voluntary sector contains a higher proportion of non-permanent employees (11.7 per cent) than in other sectors.

The proportion of non-permanent job roles created increased by 13.4 per cent, compared with an increase of just 4.3 per cent in permanent job roles. Meanwhile, the number of voluntary sector employees who reported that they had received job-related training or education in the last three months decreased by 3.9 per cent over 2011/12.

The Labour Force Survey findings are produced by Skills – Third Sector in partnership with the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) and NCVO.

Karl Wilding, director of public policy at NCVO, says: “Looking at the trends over a year there are some positive signs about employment in the sector. Of course the headlines don’t reflect the reality for some staff and employers who have struggled over the last year, but overall, an increasing number of staff in the sector is to be welcomed. This, along with recent positive indications about volunteering levels, suggests charities are rising to the challenge of supporting the increasing number of people who need their help.”