Nonprofits: a look at national trends in establishment size and employment

This article explores trends and highlights of 501(c)(3) organizations at the national level. An examination of total private employment and industry-level employment reveals that nonprofit organizations tend to employ more workers at an establishment than do their for-profit peers. These data also show that nonprofit employment grew at a steady rate from 2007 to 2017, including during the 2007–09 recession. Nonprofit organizations are an integral part of the U.S. economy. These organizations—from museums and social advocacy groups to healthcare providers and universities—can be found across all segments of the economy. To gauge the impact of this sector, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses its business register, which relies on data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, to produce employment, wage, and establishment estimates for nonprofit organizations on a 5-year cycle.1 Although the BLS Business Register contains considerable information about business establishments, it cannot be used to comprehensively identify nonprofit organizations.