United Way Centraide Canada report leverages a “fragmented abundance” of existing data to create shared intelligence that can ease workforce strain and improve access to nonprofit services today

Ottawa, ON, September 8, 2026 — United Way Centraide Canada’s new report showcases alarming labour force trends in the nonprofit care economy. The report leverages existing Statistics Canada sources, sector surveys, administrative filings, and research partnerships to compile evidence of workforce strain that threatens access to care and services that communities rely on across the country.

Prepared for United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) by Common Good Strategies, “Making the Case for the Care Economy: A Data Roadmap for Canada’s Nonprofit Labour Force” debunks the idea that policymakers, funders and employers lack the data required to take action on systemic workforce pressures.  The report argues that there is sufficient evidence about the nonprofit care economy’s labour force, arguing that can be used more deliberately to improve conditions. Existing data show that the community nonprofit sector is expanding, as demand is rising faster than the workforce and resources available to meet it: while employment rose 10% from 2019 to 2024, expenditures rose 32%, more than 70% of charities faced demand for services that exceeded capacity.

The report highlights growing pressures in occupations central to community care, including social services, home support, early childhood education, settlement services, and related roles. Vacancies in core community-care occupations have risen by 140% since 2015 and health-related vacancies rose 173%, compared with just 4% growth in vacancies across the rest of the labour market. At the same time, offered wages in core care roles grew 11 percentage points more slowly than wages in the rest of the labour market from 2015 to 2025, widening the gap for workers delivering essential community supports.

The report underscores that workforce pressures are not abstract. They affect access to care, support for families, and the ability of communities to respond to poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, mental health needs, settlement, disability support, and other essential services.

“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.”

The report was produced as part of UWCC’s McConnell Foundation-supported project to develop a national labour force strategy for the community services sector of the care economy. The report finds a “fragmented abundance” of data already available across Statistics Canada sources, sector-led surveys, administrative filings, and research partnerships. While no single dataset fully captures the nonprofit workforce, combining existing sources can produce a clearer, more credible picture of workforce size, wages, vacancies, job quality, projected shortages, organizational capacity, and the community-level implications of labour force pressures.

UWCC is already working with partners from the sector to produce a shared snapshot of the nonprofit care economy labour force and 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.”

By turning fragmented data into shared intelligence, UWCC and its partners can better target investment, strengthen labour force planning, and support the workforce delivering essential care in communities across Canada. Governments, funders, researchers, and sector partners must work together now to solidify the coordinated evidence base this workforce needs as it supports our communities.

Key findings

• The community nonprofit sector is expanding, but demand is outpacing capacity: employment grew 10% from 2019 to 2024, expenditures rose 32%, and more than 70% of charities reported service demand exceeding capacity.
• Labour shortages are intensifying in care-related occupations: vacancies in core community-care roles rose 140% since 2015 and health-related vacancies rose 173%, while vacancies in the rest of the labour market increased by only 4%.
• Care wages are falling further behind: offered wages in core care occupations grew 11 percentage points more slowly than wages in the rest of the labour market from 2015 to 2025.
• Shortages are expected to persist, with 45% of occupations closely associated with nonprofit care work projected to face strong labour-shortage risk by 2033, compared with 6% of other occupations.
• Retention and job-quality risks are concentrated in social services: 26% of workers say they are likely to leave within six months, and workers report higher burnout, poorer mental health, and greater dissatisfaction than nonprofit workers overall.
• Compensation gaps are substantial: community nonprofit workers earn about 31% less than the economy-wide average and 26% less than workers in government nonprofits.
• Volunteer decline is reducing capacity in community services; social services have lost an estimated $7 billion in annual volunteer capacity over the past decade, equal to roughly 115,000 full-time equivalent positions.

About United Way Centraide Canada

United Way Centraide Canada is the national office that represents and supports a network of United Way Centraides serving 5,000 communities across Canada. United Way Centraide is Canada’s largest non-government funder of human and community services, mobilizing over $600 million annually to support basic needs to over 8 million people. United Way Centraides exist locally to serve those experiencing vulnerability in our communities and to create an equitable future for all. They work in partnership with more than 3,800 unique community service organizations delivering essential services so that everyone in every community can have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

For more information, please contact: Erika Jacinto | 613-513-8302| ejacinto@unitedway.ca