How many people work for voluntary organisations and what do they do?
Overview
In 2024, the voluntary sector employed approximately 978,000 people. This is about 3% of the UK workforce.
Since 2011, the voluntary sector workforce has grown by 30%, reflecting the sector's significant expansion. Initially, the rate of increase was fairly steady. This has now slowed and, since 2023, there has been a slight decline in workforce growth.
The distribution of jobs remains uneven. There is a slightly higher concentration of jobs in London, the south of England , and Scotland.
Around 4 in 10 of the sector's workforce now work from home or in a hybrid arrangement. This is a higher proportion than in the public and private sectors.
Size of organisation
In December 2023, more than half (53%) of voluntary sector employees worked for organisations with 1 to 49 employees – of those, a quarter (25%) of employees worked for micro-organisations with between 1 to 10 employees.
Another 28% of employees worked for organisations with 50 to 499 employees.
Only 10% of people worked for large organisations, with over 500 employees.
Public vs private sector
Public sector workers were more likely to be employed by large organisations, with 40% of people working for organisations with over 500 employees.
Private sector workers were slightly less likely to be employed by small organisations, with 19% of people working in organisations with 1 to 10 employees.
However, 14% of people were employed by large organisations with over 500 employees.
Location
The geographic distribution of the voluntary sector workforce reflects broader population patterns, with 85% of employees based in England.
London and the south of England, along with Scotland, are slightly over-represented in the sector's workforce compared to their share of the UK population.
In England, 41% of the voluntary sector workforce was concentrated in London and the south. London accounted for 16% of the workforce compared to its 13% share of the population.
In contrast, the north of England is underrepresented, with 20% of the workforce compared to 23% of the UK population. The north-west, in particular, has a lower proportion of voluntary sector workers (8%) relative to its population share (11%).
Place of work
There has been a bigger shift towards remote and hybrid working in the voluntary sector than in other sectors.
In December 2023, 39% of voluntary sector employees were working remotely, usually at home (28%) or in a hybrid model (11%). However, the majority (60%) of employees were working from a location separate from their home, such as an office or co-working space.
Public sector workers were less likely to work from home (19%) or in a hybrid arrangement (6%).
About one-third of private sector workers were engaged in remote working, with 22% working from home and 9% in a hybrid model.
The increase in remote working in the voluntary sector reflects broader changes in work practices and the need for flexibility in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
However most of this increase took place from mid-2020 to mid-2022; there was no further change in any sector from 2022 to 2023.
Subsectors
In December 2023, the subsectors with the largest share of the workforce were:
- social work (39%): over 384,000 employees
- education (13%): around 126,000 employees
- membership (10%): just over 100,000 employees.
In 2017, employment in membership organisations peaked. It then fell prior to the pandemic, but began to rise again in mid-2020.
Since April 2020, employment in membership organisations has increased by 35%, reaching a new high level.
In contrast, employment in the human health subsector had increased during the pandemic, but then decreased from mid-2022 until mid-2023. It is now more stable at a level similar to that seen before the pandemic.
Education had a 15% decline in staff numbers from April 2020 to December 2021. It has since experienced a strong recovery, with a 27% increase since December 2021, pushing employment levels above pre-pandemic figures.
Employment numbers in residential care had remained fairly stable since 2019, during the pandemic, but have since decreased, falling 31% since December 2021.
These numbers suggest an impact during and after the pandemic in many sectors. However staff numbers in smaller subsectors remain volatile on a quarterly basis. This likely reflects the ongoing adjustments in the sector to respond to external pressures.
