News Update

Child care industry struggles with job recovery

Job recovery in the child care industry continues to be challenged, according to a recent analysis by the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE). 

The early care and education sector, a workforce dominated by women of color, has suffered extensive job losses due to Covid-19, exacerbating a crisis that existed long before the pandemic. 

Job recovery has been slow, further challenged by teachers walking away from the sector in search of higher wages at companies like McDonald’s and Amazon, the report notes. To make matters worse, child care has long been notable, experts say, as one of the lowest-paying jobs in the country.

The child care sector recorded 2,100 fewer jobs in November than the previous month, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This estimate includes employees in the “child day care services” industry, which includes child care, Head Start, preschool and school-age care programs. Also, the estimates include employees only and do not include self-employed workers, such as owners of home-based child care.

The CSCCE Jobs Tracker reports that about 108,000 child care jobs have been lost since February 2020 when the pandemic first upended society.

 


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