Charities forced to axe thousands of jobs - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

Charities forced to axe thousands of jobs - UK Politics, UK - The Independent: "Charities employed just over 500,000 staff in 2000 and the total rose to 624,000 at the end of 2004 and 724,000 last autumn. But new official figures show the number suddenly dropped in the last three months of 2008 to 716,000, the first fall on record for a decade. Voluntary organisations say the trend accelerated in the New Year."