The 'ins' and 'outs' of working in the UK voluntary sector

The voluntary sector in the UK has grown dramatically in recent years, fuelled by the rise in the number of public services contracted out through the use of commissioning and competitive tendering. I use data from the UK Labour Force Survey to examine how the voluntary sector workforce has changed over this period. I analyse the characteristics of 'sector switchers' - workers who move into or out of the voluntary sector. Over time there have been significant changes not only in the 'stock' of voluntary sector workers, but also in the 'flow' of workers into and out of the sector.