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What It Is

In September 2023, SCG joined nonprofits and philanthropic partners to call for a $4 million Fiscal Year 2025 budget request for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, to ensure that nonprofit organizations are incorporated in the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). This request echoes report language accompanying S.2624, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, which was reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations by an overwhelming 26-2 vote on July 27, 2023.

Update: In September 2024, we once again joined our nonprofit partners in signing onto a letter of support, urging the administration to include the quarterly reporting of nonprofit data.

Update: In October 2024, another letter was sent to President Biden and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the quarterly reporting of nonprofit data.

Why It Matters

The federal government’s official data about wages and employment in nonprofits was last updated over 5 years ago, while every other sector of the economy receives information every quarter. This prevents nonprofits – which employ 10% of the private workforce – from doing the same benchmarking and planning as businesses and other sectors, and it leaves policymakers like Senator Butler with a major blind spot. This tracking allows for these entities to measure their outcomes against larger trends and shape their policy actions based on these reports. 

SCG joins more than 250, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, and scholars nationwide in urging the Bureau of Labor Statistics to incorporate nonprofit organizations into the QCEW. This welcome addition would benefit the American economy and our ability to identify challenges within the sector, directly impacting SCG’s capacity to fully support the philanthropy and the communities that we serve. Nonprofit sustainability is a key policy priority for SCG, as nonprofits help communities thrive and are a direct connection to community voices. We know that the nonprofit sector is essential in resourcing people who are most impacted in crises, and government entities must shift towards a culture of inclusivity and accessibility for nonprofits to sustain these capacities. The inclusion of nonprofits in the QCEQ is a necessary step in improving these public-private relations and increasing the nonprofit sector's ability to operate and mobilize.