The Johns Hopkins Gazette: September 3, 2002
September 3, 2002
VOL. 32, NO. 1

  

Study Reports 10-year Surge in Maryland Nonprofit Employment

By Glenn Small
Homewood
Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people working in nonprofit organizations in Maryland increased three times faster than the number working in the for-profit sector, according to a new study released by Johns Hopkins and the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

Jobs in the state's nonprofit sector increased by 34 percent during this period, compared to 11 percent for business and 8 percent for government. By the middle of 2000, nonprofit workers accounted for nearly 9 percent of the state's work force and earned $6.8 billion in annual wages.

"The continued growth in nonprofit employment in Maryland is a clear indicator of this sector's importance and influence, even though this is not widely known or well understood," said Lester Salamon, director of the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, co-author of the study and a leading expert on nonprofits and philanthropy. "We hope this report can promote greater understanding of the impact of the nonprofit sector and its importance to the state's economy and its cultural and civic life."

Produced in collaboration with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, the 16-page report is the third annual look at nonprofit employment in Maryland and is part of a larger, nationwide effort by the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Employment Data Project to document employment in this sector.

Peter Berns, executive director of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, said, "We are pleased to see the nonprofit sector continuing to expand even during times of economic decline. The demand for programs and services is increasing; nonprofits need to grow to keep pace with the demand."

Among the key findings for this most recent report, which is based on data for the end of 2000, the latest available:

There are 4,252 nonprofit organizations in Maryland, employing 211,683 workers.

The nonprofit sector employs 18 percent more people than the state's construction industry and 32 percent more than in all branches of manufacturing.

Nonprofit organizations added more new jobs in Maryland between 1992 and 2000 than did the high technology sector (38,299 vs. 28,818 new jobs).

Nonprofit job growth over the past decade has exceeded overall job growth in every region of the state, and in Baltimore City it was the only source of net job growth.

Over the past decade, more and more nonprofit jobs have been shifting to the suburban counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and jobs in those areas now account for 51 percent of the state's nonprofit employment compared to 36 percent in Baltimore City.

Sixty-five percent of the state's nonprofit cultural and recreation employment --including museums, theaters and opera houses--still remains in Baltimore City.

The private nonprofit sector is comprised of private universities, schools, hospitals, clinics, day care centers, social service providers, symphonies, museums, art galleries, theaters, environmental organizations, soup kitchens and many others. The data in this report draw on reports that employers filed with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and cover the period through the end of 2000.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies is publishing this report in collaboration with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations.


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