Johns Hopkins’ Research Finds Nonprofit Sector Leads Westchester Job Growth
By Jon Craig – A study released Wednesday by Nonprofit Westchester and the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies found that nonprofits are “a critical driver of Westchester’s economy,” comprising the largest and fastest-growing sector.
The study, titled “Westchester County Nonprofits: A Major Economic Engine,” found that 53,987 people, or 13.6 percent, of the county’s total workforce were employed by nonprofits last year. That’s one out of every seven workers.
Speaking at a news conference at Greenburgh Public Library, Lester M. Salamon, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, told an audience of more than 100 leaders of nonprofit agencies they should feel empowered by the statistics. “You don’t get the respect you deserve. You don’t get the support you deserve,” Salamon said.
The nonprofit sector produced nearly $7 billion in revenues and paid about $3 billion in wages and compensation, including more than $400 million in federal, state and local taxes, according to the study.
Local government and retail trade make up the next two largest sectors of the workforce, with 49,096 and 48,144 employees, respectively.
The nonprofit sector also was the only source of overall private employment growth in the county during the recession. “You have been outdistancing for-profit and government sectors,” Salamon said.
“We’ve always known that we provide many essential services and are critically important to the regional economy,” said Joanna Straub, executive director of Nonprofit Westchester. “With this study, we have concrete data that shows just how vital we are and how much we contribute to Westchester County.”
“We’re going to take this show on the road to change the mindset people have,’’ Straub told the audience of more than 100.
The $15,000 study, funded by the Westchester Community Foundation, includes five major economic findings.
At 53,987 workers, the county’s nonprofit sector employs more than retail, tourism, local government, construction, finance, and real estate or other industries. In fact, nonprofits employ more than six times as many workers than the county’s real estate and information technology fields, more than three times as many as the finance industry, and 10 percent more than local governments.
Health organizations, such as hospitals and nursing homes, were significant areas of employment in 2013 as were colleges and universities. Hospitals employed 14,375 workers in the county last year, or 27 percent of the nonprofit total, while nursing homes had 10,961 or 20 percent. Colleges and universities employed a total of 6,506 workers.
The nearly $10 billion in annual revenues and wages generated by nonprofits resulted in $311 million in federal taxes, $104 million in state income taxes and nearly $22 million in local income taxes, the study found.
The impact of nonprofits was just as significant looking back a decade, Salamon said. Between 2003 and 2013, nonprofit employment in Westchester County grew by 8.4 percent, adding 4,203 jobs, particularly in health services and elementary and secondary education. Salamon said he assumes that the opening of new charter schools contributed to growth in the education employment totals.
While salaries paid by nonprofit agencies typically lagged other employment sectors, the study found that wages were higher in fields where nonprofits where more competitive with other employers.
The Westchester Community Foundation said it funded the study because it is important to show the wide economic reach and impact of nonprofits.
“It’s important that organizations, governments and members of the public understand the true value of nonprofits in Westchester County,” said Catherine Marsh, executive director of the Westchester Community Foundation. “These results show that nonprofits are not only respected service providers, but also create a wide range of economic opportunities.”
For more details about Nonprofit Westchester or for a copy of the study, visit www.npwestchester.org or call 914-332-6679.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
