The number of paid employees in the voluntary sector remained stable at 793,000 in the last quarter of 2010, according to the latest Labour Force Survey.

Median gross hourly earnings also stayed the same at £10.40 per hour.

The stability is to be welcomed given that the previous quarter’s figures were a 2 per cent reduction on the preceding quarter, but is likely to be severely tested in the next set of results.

Julie Wilkes, chief executive of Skills – Third Sector, which conducted the study in association with the Third Sector Research Centre and NCVO, said: “Charities have been holding their breath on staff cuts in the last quarter, waiting to hear if their contracts with government will be renewed. The next two quarters will be the real test of the state of the sector as they include the end of the financial year.”

The findings come a day after NCVO published its most recent Charity Forecast survey of 103 sector leaders, which showed that 55 per cent expect to cut staff numbers in the coming year, compared with 15 per cent that intend to increase them.