‘Nonprofit Layoff Tracker’ Underscores Urgent Need for More Workforce Data

To the Editor:

I read with great concern the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s recent reporting showing that at least 10,000 nonprofit jobs have been cut since January (“10,000 Job Cuts in 70 Days. Introducing the Nonprofit Layoff Tracker,” April 10). But the article also highlights the glaring need for more workforce data about the sector.

The piece notes that the “estimate is a significant undercount,” since the media hasn’t reported on all the layoffs, and small nonprofits aren’t required to submit updated numbers to state databases. More up-to-date workforce data about the sector from the Bureau of Labor Statistics would fill the gap, but as the piece explains, the agency doesn’t release nonprofit employment and wage data quarterly as it does for other major sectors of the economy.

The agency’s most recent figures are from 2022, even though nonprofits are the nation’s third-largest private sector employer. What’s more, the Bureau of Labor Statistics won’t release an updated dataset until 2029. This leaves the field without the comprehensive, timely data needed to both quantify current job losses and track the future effect of federal policies on the workforce.

That’s why nonprofits and experts throughout the country have been advocating for quarterly nonprofit data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — and pushing Congress to allot more funds to make that happen. It’s long overdue.

Cinthia Schuman Ottinger
Deputy Director for Philanthropy Programs
The Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation