Nonprofit Jobs in Maryland Increase

In Maryland’s nonprofit sector, employment grew by 1.6 percent from 2009 to 2010, while the state’s businesses saw a 1.1 percent job loss during the same years. The report was released by Johns Hopkins and was researched from Newswise. For all regions in the state, the pattern of nonprofit job growth was the same, even though growth was lower than the 2 percent seen from 2008 to 2009.

In the health field, nonprofit growth in employment was really strong from 2008 to 2010, with an increase of 5.5 percent. Membership and social assistance companies also added workers. There was a 4.3 percent decline in the state’s arts and culture organizations.

“For more than a decade, Maryland’s nonprofit organizations have demonstrated resilience through good and bad economic times,” said Lester M. Salamon, study author and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies. “But it is clear that the current economic climate is taking a toll on many organizations.”

The president and CEO of Maryland Nonprofits, Darryl A. Jones, had the following to say about the report:

“This report demonstrates what a critical role nonprofits play in our economy. News of nonprofit growth is good news for everyone since these organizations make a positive difference every day in communities across Maryland.”

Other findings from the report by Johns Hopkins include:

One out of every nine workers in the state of Maryland were employed by nonprofit organizations by the end of 2010.

The nonprofit organizations gathered 10 percent of all wages in the state, which is over $12.4 billion total. For Maryland’s state and local government, close to $881 million of personal income tax revenue was generated.

During the recession of 2008-2010, employment in the nonprofit sector grew and this was evident in every region of the state. Baltimore City saw an increase of 2.9 percent while Western Maryland saw an increase of 5 percent. In each of the state’s regions, the private sector shed jobs.

From 1990 to 2007, the annual growth rate of 2.4 percent each year in the nonprofit sector, was one of the best in the country.

The report from Johns Hopkins, Maryland Nonprofit Employment Update: Enduring Impact of the Recession, can be found on their website. The report also features county by county comparisons. http://ccss.jhu.edu/publications-findings?did=362.

The nonprofit, private sector includes hospitals, clinics, day care centers, private universities, schools, social service providers, museums, symphonies, theaters, art galleries, environmental organizations and others. The report is only one out of a series of reports issued by the Nonprofit Economic Data Project at The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies. Employers submit their data to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation as a part of the federal government’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.