A United Way Centraide Canada report says existing vacancy and wage data is already sufficient to act on workforce pressures
Canada’s non-profit care workforce is under serious strain. A new national report says governments, funders, and employers already have the data they need to act.
Released September 8, 2026, the report was prepared by Common Good Strategies for United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC). It draws on Statistics Canada sources, sector-led surveys, and administrative filings. The report argues that existing evidence is sufficient to support urgent investment, without waiting for new research.
Many employee assistance programs, disability support referrals, and return-to-work pathways depend on community non-profit services. Social services, home support, early childhood education, and settlement are among the occupations under the most acute pressure.
Non-profit care workforce vacancies up 140 percent since 2015
Vacancies in core community-care occupations rose 140 percent since 2015, according to the report. Health-related vacancies climbed 173 percent over the same period. By comparison, vacancies across the broader labour market grew just four percent.
Pay in core care roles trailed broader labour market growth by 11 percentage points between 2015 and 2025. Community non-profit workers earn roughly 31 percent less than the economy-wide average and about 26 percent less than workers in government non-profits.
Plan sponsors managing group disability and absence programs have a stake in the stability of this sector. Workforce gaps in community care create downstream pressure on plan utilization and benefits delivery.
Retention risk concentrated in social services
Twenty-six percent of social services workers say they are likely to leave within six months. Workers in social services also report sharply elevated burnout, declining mental health, and lower job satisfaction compared with the broader non-profit workforce. Implementing workplace wellness has been challenging in the non-profit sector.
Demand is outpacing available resources. From 2019 to 2024, employment in the sector rose 10 percent. Expenditures, however, rose 32 percent over that period. More than 70 percent of charities reported demand exceeding their capacity, according to the report.
Anita Khanna, vice-president, government relations and public policy at United Way Centraide Canada, said the evidence base is sufficient to support action now.
“This report shows that we do not have to wait for more data to act to sustain the labour force that delivers vital services,” she said. “We already have enough evidence to understand where pressures are greatest and where investment is most urgently needed.”
Shortages in the care economy projected to worsen through 2033
The report projects that 45 percent of occupations closely tied to non-profit care work will face strong labour shortage risk by 2033. In other occupations, the rate is at six percent.
Over the past decade, social services have lost roughly 115,000 full-time positions in volunteer support. This translates to around $7 billion in lost annual capacity, according to UWCC.
Steven Ayer, principal of Common Good Strategies and the report’s author, said the goal is to connect scattered data sources into a coherent picture of where the workforce stands. The report clarifies both the scale of the challenge and where action is most needed, he said.
The report was produced under UWCC’s McConnell Foundation-supported project to develop a national labour force strategy for Canada’s community services sector. The results are expected this fall.
