One in three entry and graduate level roles in the charity sector offer below real living wage salaries, research is warning.

The analysis by on online job board CharityJob of 55,000 roles found that 33.9% of entry level and junior roles in charities in the capital offer salaries below the London Living Wage of £14.80 an hour, as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

Similarly, 32.8% of such roles outside of London are paid below the UK Living Wage rate of £13.45 an hour.

“These proportions are higher than last year’s, indicating a greater share of junior roles are now paid below the Real Living wage,” warns CharityJob.

“This remains a concern, as it suggests some charity employees, especially those entering the workforce, may struggle to afford basic necessities and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“Charities hiring for these roles should consider raising salaries to ensure their employees can thrive both personally and professionally.”

Artificial intelligence concerns

Increasing use of artificial intelligence is also impacting entry level roles across all sectors, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned

During an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight last month he said that company bosses had told him that the recruitment of young people is flattening because of the use of AI.

In February four in five charity workers responding to a survey by software firm Propel Tech believe that AI could replace them. This was the highest proportion among all sectors covered in the survey of 1,000 workers.

Recruiter-led

CharityJob's analysis also found that during 2025 the job market among charities “remained recruiter-led, with fewer job vacancies and increased candidate demand across all job categories”.

Between 2024 and 2025 the number of jobs posted on CharityJob’s website fell by almost a fifth, while at the same time the number of candidates applying for roles increased by more than a third.

This reflects recruitment trends across the wider job market, it said.

Flexible working is “still a key driver of candidate behaviour” found Charity Job, with remote roles attracting seven times more applications than on-site posts and four times more than hybrid roles.

Volunteer roles are also posted on CharityJob’s website. These rose for a second year in a rose “indicating growing reliance on unpaid support to help maintain services”.

“Recruitment in the charity sector has changed significantly in recent years,” said Charity Job co-founder Raya Wexler.

The charity sector's median salary increased by just 3% between 2024 to 2025, which is just below the inflation rate including housing costs of 3.4% during this period, CharityJob also found.

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