Non-profit institutions and volunteering: Economic contribution, first quarter 2022
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Released: 2022-07-05
First quarter 2022
-0.3% 
(quarterly change)
2.5 million jobs
First quarter 2022
0.2% 
(quarterly change)
8.3%
First quarter 2022
Real gross domestic product declines
Real gross domestic product (GDP) of non-profit institutions edged down 0.3% in the first quarter of 2022, the first quarterly decrease since the second quarter of 2020, when real GDP of non-profits fell 2.5% owing to the widespread shutdowns imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Chart 1
Real gross domestic product, non-profit institutions
By contrast, economy-wide real GDP rose 0.8% in the first quarter of 2022, driven primarily by business investment and household spending.
Business and government non-profit institutions lead the decline
Non-profit institutions serving businesses recorded a decline in real GDP of 0.8% in the first quarter of 2022, following a 1.1% increase in the fourth quarter of 2021. Lockdown measures implemented from late December 2021 through January 2022 to slow the spread of the Omicron variant affected this subsector, with many businesses being unable to operate in a normal capacity.
Non-profit institutions serving governments fell 0.6% in the first quarter of 2022, the first quarterly decrease since the pandemic began. Non-profit institutions serving households recorded the only increase among the three subsectors, up 1.2% in the first quarter of 2022.
Chart 2
Real gross domestic product, non-profit institutions, by subsector
Employment rises in non-profit institutions
Employment in non-profit institutions rose 0.2% in the first quarter of 2022, led by an increase in the number of jobs in health care and social services. Jobs in health care increased 0.7% in the first quarter of 2022, the sixth consecutive quarterly increase. Compared with the first quarter of 2020, health care recorded the largest increase among all activities, up 6.6%. Hospitals continued to hire more health care workers to compensate for labour shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks.
The number of employees in social services activities rose 1.0% in the first quarter of 2022, following a 1.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The employment increases in the first quarter of 2022 were moderated by declines in religion (-2.7%) and culture and recreation (-1.7%) activities. Jobs in religion activities decreased 2.7% in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting closures that affected religious activities and that meant a loss of donations from households. Jobs in non-profit businesses fell, owing to decreased in-person services in January to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
Nominal gross domestic product edges up
Nominal GDP for non-profit institutions grew 3.4% in the first quarter of 2022, after rising 2.0% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Increased prices in health care, social services and housing resulted in higher nominal GDP.
Chart 3
Nominal gross domestic product, non-profit institutions, by activity
For non-profit institutions excluding those serving governments, nominal GDP grew 1.5% in the first quarter of 2022. Overall, non-profit institutions represented 8.3% of economy-wide nominal GDP in the first quarter of 2022, the same share as in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Note to readers
Along with the "Non-profit institutions and volunteering: Economic contribution, first quarter 2022" release, other related products will be released at this time:
- The analytical article "An overview of the Non-Profit Sector in Canada: 2010 to 2020" provides an overview of the non-profit sector in Canada, by examining its makeup and trends over the last decade. The document also uncovers the contributions of gross domestic product, income and employment within the sector to the overall Canadian economy.
- The data visualization product "Quarterly Non-Profit Institutions Economic Account: Interactive tool" provides a snapshot of the non-profit sector, with key statistics on gross domestic product, income, outlays and employment. This interactive tool facilitates easy access to the numerous datasets in this satellite account. The tool highlights the latest results with a time-series overview of non-profit institutions by sector and activity.
- The data visualization product "Annual Non-Profit Institutions Human Resource Module: Interactive tool" provides a breakdown of key statistics by characteristic category, or by demographic characteristic, with data on the number of jobs and average annual wages and salaries of non-profit employees. This interactive tool facilitates easy access to the numerous datasets in the human resources module. The tool highlights the latest results with a time-series overview of non-profit institutions by demographic characteristic and sector for earnings, the type of employment and the number of jobs.
The non-profit indicators are quarterly indicators for the main aggregates in the Satellite Account of Nonprofit Institutions and Volunteering, namely gross domestic product, output and employment. The estimates from this account are directly comparable with the estimates in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts.
For the purposes of these estimates, the definition of the non-profit sector adheres to international standards published in the United Nations' Satellite Account on Non-profit and Related Institutions and Volunteer Work. Canada's overall non-profit sector is divided into the following three broad categories:
Community non-profit institutions include organizations engaged, for example, in social services, advocacy, or sports and recreation. These make up the "non-profit institutions serving households" sector in standard macroeconomic measures.
Business non-profit institutions include, for example, business associations, chambers of commerce and condominium associations. These are classified to the business sector in standard measures.
Government non-profit institutions include hospitals, some residential care facilities, universities and colleges. These are classified to the government sector in standard measures.
Products
The data visualization products "Quarterly Non-Profit Institutions Economic Account: Interactive tool" and "Annual Non-Profit Institutions Human Resource Module: Interactive tool," which are part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X), are now available.
The document "An overview of the Non-Profit Sector in Canada: 2010 to 2020," which is part of Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X), is now available.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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