Non-profit organizations are having a difficult time recruiting IT workers, according to an article in Information Week. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies report that 70 percent of non-profits are challenged by recruiting IT workers. The report also indicated that non-profits are having a difficult time recruiting minority workers. One of the biggest hurdles in IT recruitment, according to the article, is the perception that non-profit IT wages are low and benefits are not as attractive as those found in the private sector. These perceptions, however, may not be supported by reality.

While the non-profit sector includes charities that operate on a shoestring budget, it also includes research firms, and educational, cultural and health care institutions.IT spending in those sub-sectors has stayed on par or in some cases outpaced IT spending in the private sector.

The difficulty in hiring and recruiting does not extend to other occupations within the non-profit community. The Nonprofit Employment Data Project, also housed at Johns Hopkins University, reported in January that employment in the non-profit sector has grown faster than overall employment in 46 of 50 states. Between 2002 and 2004, employment among non-profits grew by 5.3 percent, while overall employment growth remained relatively flat at just 0.2 percent.

The perception of low wages in the non-profit sector is not borne out by the facts. Overall, wages in the non-profit sector in 2004 were greater than the overall wages in the utility, wholesale trade and construction industries, and nearly matched those paid in the finance and insurance industry.