
In Austria, nonprofit organizations perform almost 840 million working hours per year. This was revealed by a survey conducted in 2021 by Statistics Austria on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Around 367 million working hours were paid, while 470 million were from voluntary activities. The economic value created by paid and voluntary work amounts to more than 22 billion euros, calculated for the first time.
More than 6,000 organizations in Austria are engaged in nonprofit work. Their efforts span all areas of society, from social engagement to health and care to culture and sports. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Affairs noted that their contributions cannot be adequately represented in the national economic accounts.
“Whether in rescue services, sports clubs, or cultural activities: Nonprofit work makes the existing services in social and health institutions, cultural and educational establishments, and many other areas of our society possible,” emphasized Social Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) on Thursday in a press release. “With the new survey, we can express in numbers how valuable this work is for the first time.”
According to the data, there were 283,300 employment relationships in the nonprofit sector in 2021. The 367 million paid working hours account for about 5.9 percent of total employment and 5.2 percent of all working hours in Austria. Nonprofit organizations generated a gross value of 12.1 billion euros, 3.3 percent of Austria’s total value added.
Thirty percent of the value added in the nonprofit sector comes from social organizations, 23 percent from healthcare, and 47 percent from education and teaching, arts and culture, sports, and other services.
In 2021, around 3.8 million people in Austria volunteered in their free time. The survey estimates the economic value of this voluntary work at 10.2 billion euros. These unpaid activities increase Austria’s total value added by up to 2.8 percent.