A new report from United Way Centraide Canada says Canada's nonprofit care economy is facing growing labour shortages and capacity pressures, with demand for community services rising faster than the workforce and resources available to meet it.
The report, Making the Case for the Care Economy: A Data Roadmap for Canada's Nonprofit Labour Force, compiles existing Statistics Canada data, sector surveys, administrative filings and research partnerships to assess workforce conditions in community-based nonprofit services.
Labour shortages intensify
The report says employment in the community nonprofit sector increased 10 per cent between 2019 and 2024, while expenditures rose 32 per cent. More than 70 per cent of charities reported demand for services that exceeded their capacity.
It also says labour shortages are becoming more pronounced in occupations central to community care, including social services, home support, early childhood education and settlement services.
Vacancies in core community-care occupations have risen 140 per cent since 2015, while health-related vacancies increased 173 per cent. That compares with a four per cent increase in vacancies across the rest of the labour market.
At the same time, offered wages in core care occupations grew 11 percentage points more slowly than wages in the rest of the labour market between 2015 and 2025, according to the report.
"Across Canada, community organizations are facing a workforce challenge that directly affects people's ability to access care, support, and services close to home," said Anita Khanna, vice-president, government relations and public policy at United Way Centraide Canada. "This report shows that we do not have to wait for more data to act to sustain the labour force that delivers vital services. We already have enough evidence to understand where pressures are greatest and where investment is most urgently needed."
Data available but fragmented
The report argues that policymakers, funders and employers already have enough information to begin addressing systemic workforce pressures, despite the lack of a single dataset covering the nonprofit workforce.
It describes the existing information as a "fragmented abundance" spread across Statistics Canada sources, sector-led surveys, administrative filings and research partnerships.
By combining those sources, the report says it is possible to develop a clearer picture of the nonprofit care workforce, including its size, wages, vacancies, job quality, projected shortages and organizational capacity, as well as the community-level effects of labour pressures.
Shortages expected to persist
The report projects that 45 per cent of occupations closely associated with nonprofit care work will face a strong risk of labour shortages by 2033, compared with six per cent of other occupations.
Retention and job-quality concerns are also highlighted, particularly in social services. The report says 26 per cent of workers surveyed say they are likely to leave within six months, while workers report higher burnout, poorer mental health and greater dissatisfaction than nonprofit workers overall.
Compensation is another concern. Community nonprofit workers earn about 31 per cent less than the economy-wide average and 26 per cent less than workers in government nonprofits, the report says.
The report also points to declining volunteer participation as a further constraint on community-service capacity. It estimates social services have lost $7 billion in annual volunteer capacity over the past decade, equivalent to roughly 115,000 full-time equivalent positions.
National workforce strategy
The report was produced as part of a United Way Centraide Canada project, supported by the McConnell Foundation, to develop a national labour force strategy for the community services sector of the care economy.
United Way Centraide Canada says it is working with sector partners on a shared snapshot of the nonprofit care economy labour force, with plans to publish the snapshot this fall.
"The nonprofit care economy is essential infrastructure, but the evidence needed to support its workforce is still fragmented", said Steven Ayer, principal of Common Good Strategies and author of the report. "By connecting existing data on shortages, wages, retention, and volunteer capacity, this report helps clarify both the scale of the challenge and where further action is needed."
The organization says the goal of consolidating existing data is to help governments, funders, researchers and sector partners better target investment, strengthen labour force planning and support workers delivering community services across Canada.