More nonprofit employers are reporting growing confidence as 48 percent say they are hiring this year, representing a 6 percent increase from 2011, according to a survey by Idealist.org.
Another 36 percent of respondents say they received more funding this year, up from 19 percent last year while 54 percent of respondents say they expect to raise salaries in 2012, a jump from 47 percent in 2011.
The survey also reveals that 46 percent of respondents say they are more optimistic about the year ahead than the year past. Only 11 percent of respondents say they are less optimistic.
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Among the respondents, 30 percent of job seeker are over age 50, and 40 percent of job seekers are pursuing executive positions. Despite this, only about 10 percent of respondents say they intend to hire at the executive level in 2012. Sixty-two percent of job seeker respondents hope to find communications positions, but only 18 percent of respondents plan to hire for that sector.
Of the top challenges facing respondents are finding and retaining the right talent, investing in employees' professional development and offering competitive salaries. Eighty-four percent of staff members handling human resources duties also take on other roles, especially in program management and support, and they say balancing the multiple responsibilities is difficult. Another 86 percent of job seekers say potential employers typically fail to respond after receiving job applications, which ranks as the top frustration of job hunting.
"Though the unemployment numbers are still making headlines, the nonprofit sector as a whole has persevered throughout this economic downturn," says Ami Dar, Idealist's founder and executive director. "Many organizations, including us at Idealist, faced funding cuts and staff reductions, but optimism is on the rise again — and with it, we are seeing some increases in financial stability and overall capacity. This is a very encouraging sign, and we hope to see these trends continue."
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