Nonprofit organizations provide nearly one out of every 10 jobs in Maryland, thanks to a recent boom in sector employment growth.
Employment in Maryland?s nonprofit sector grew 2.9 percent from 2005 to 2006, nearly three times faster than the state?s for-profit sector, which grew 1.1 percent in the same period, according to a Johns Hopkins University employment report released Monday.
The growth resulted in 6,840 new nonprofit jobs for the state, bringing the state?s nonprofit work force to more than 244,000 at the end of 2006 ? representing 9.6 percent of all jobs in Maryland. The sector generated more than $10.6 billion in wages in 2006, or 8.5 percent of the state?s total payroll.
“Not only do nonprofits provide critical services and opportunities for cultural expression, but they also play a key role in the state?s economy,” said Lester Salamon, director of the Center for Civil Society Studies with JHU?s Institute for Policy Studies.
“Nonprofit job growth is especially critical given the recent employment declines in other parts of the U.S. economy,” Salamon said.
All regions of Maryland ? Baltimore City, the Baltimore suburbs, the Washington suburbs, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland ? saw nonprofits add jobs at rates above for-profit sectors, according to the report.
“This growth continues a long-term trend,” said Nancy Hall, senior adviser at the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. “Between 1999 and 2006, nonprofit employment in Maryland grew 20.5 percent ? nearly three times the rate of for-profit jobs [7.1 percent growth].”
The nonprofit sector has grown because it consists of industries that are growing, like education, social services and health sciences, said Stephanie Geller, research project manager with CCSS and co-author of the report.
The Johns Hopkins study comes three months after a survey of nearly 6,000 nonprofit employees not holding executive director positions found that 64 percent had financial concerns about committing to a nonprofit career. The report, produced by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation and several partners, also found that 69 percent of respondents feel underpaid in their current positions.
The authors of the report said at the time of its release that financial concerns were the biggest barrier to job growth in the nonprofit industry.
Staff Writer Aaron Cahall contributed to this story.
