Every year, VONNE uses data from our Job Finder service to track salary and recruitment trends across the North East voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. We've been doing this since 2000, and the data gives us a unique picture of what's happening in our region. Our 2025–26 report has just launched, and there are some genuinely encouraging signs - alongside some important challenges the sector is navigating.
Good news for workers: salaries up across the board
The headline finding is positive: average salaries increased for every role type in 2025–26. The biggest gains went to people in the most junior roles - assistant salaries rose by 8.9%, with Project Support not far behind. This largely reflects the National Minimum Wage rising from £11.44 to £12.21 in April 2025, and it's welcome news at a time when the cost of living continues to put pressure on household budgets.
Five of the eight role types we track grew faster than the UK national average salary increase of 3.6%, which is a strong result for the North East VCSE sector.
A busy but competitive jobs market
If you've been job hunting recently, you'll know the market has felt competitive, and the data backs that up. The number of people visiting VONNE Job Finder grew from around 34,000 a month in May 2025 to almost 40,000 by March 2026. More people are searching, while the number of roles has stayed relatively steady. It's a challenging environment for candidates, but it also means North East VCSE employers are reaching a large and active audience when they advertise.
Flexibility in working location is changing
One shift worth noting, is that fewer roles were advertised with hybrid or home-based working in 2025–26. Hybrid roles dropped from 11.1% to 7.1% of adverts. This may reflect the growth in frontline delivery roles, which tend to be site-based, or it may signal a broader move back towards office working. Either way, flexibility remains one of the top things candidates look for, so where organisations can offer this, it's still a real advantage in attracting a wider range of applicants.
Access to the full 2025–26 Salary Report, including a detailed breakdown of average salaries by role type and regional trends, is a benefit of VONNE Membership+ members.
If you are a Membership+ member and haven’t received your copy of the report yet, please email us at membership@vonne.org.uk.
Not yet a member? Find out about the benefits of joining VONNE on our website , or get in touch if you'd like to know more.
Alternatively if you’d like to purchase a copy of this report, please email us at membership@vonne.org.uk.