Economy & Business
Child care is an integral pillar to supporting a thriving economy, with 27 million Americans relying on it to work. The national shortage of affordable child care programs is doing significant harm to family finances, businesses’ bottom lines, and the U.S. economy broadly.
Here are five things to know about child care and our economy.
- The United States economy loses an estimated $122 billion a year due to child care challenges.
- On average, businesses lose $1,640 a year for each working parent due to lost revenue and hiring costs because of insufficient child care, totaling $23 billion annually.
- 77% of small business leaders say access to high-quality, affordable child care is essential or important to strengthening the economy and helping workers.
- Investments in high-quality child care and early learning programs can generate up to $7.30 per every dollar invested.
- The availability of early childhood education programs attracts homebuyers and increases property values by $13 for every dollar invested in programs.
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Posts
Biden Relief Proposal Underscores Child Care as Central to Economic Recovery
Proposal includes $40 billion in dedicated relief for child care providers, along with significant tax benefits and financial support for families WASHINGTON – Today, President-elect Joe Biden released the details …
Congressional Leaders Unveil Year-End COVID-19 Relief Package with $10 Billion for Child Care
WASHINGTON – Moments ago, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate released the final details of an end-of-year pandemic relief package, which includes $10 billion in funding …
OPRE Report Looks at How to Conceptualize and Measure Access to Care
In a new report, the Office of Research, Planning, and Evaluation (OPRE), in collaboration with Child Trends, examines how the early learning field has attempted to measure access to child …
New Chamber Data Shows Impact of Child Care Challenges on American Employers
Building on previous research, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recently released new data outlining the pandemic’s continued pressure on working parents and employers. The survey, conducted in September and …
Two COVID-19 Recovery Proposals Unveiled Today, But More Child Care Relief is Required
WASHINGTON – Today, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers announced a $908 billion pandemic relief package that includes $10 billion in emergency funding for the child care industry. Later in …
House Approves Legislation to Support Inclusion of Child Care in Local Community Economic Development
This week, the House of Representatives passed the Child Care is Economic Development Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) and Congressman Jim Hagedorn (R-MN). The bill, …
Paper Outlines Strategies to Improve Equitable Compensation in the Early Childhood Field
Despite the importance of caring for and educating young children, according to a new policy brief by Bank Street College of Education, half of the child care workforce relies on …
New America Shares Strategies to Support Early Educator Degree Attainment
Earlier this month, New America published a report summarizing the work of its Supporting Early Educator Degree Attainment Working Group. The Working Group was convened last fall with support from …
New Report from U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation on the Impact of COVID-19 on Working Parents
It’s no secret that many parents are reaching the end of their ropes as the Coronavirus pandemic drags on. For many, it has permanently impacted their career paths and the …
Women’s Workforce Participation Is At Its Lowest Point Since The 80s. Child Care Is An Essential Part Of The Solution.
The September jobs report makes clear what economists have been fearing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—this economic crisis is disproportionately affecting working women, and stands to set progress on women’s workplace …
Congress May Bail Out the Airlines. But What About Child Care?
Airline bailouts have dominated the airwaves over the past few days and weeks, but there’s another critical industry with broad-reaching impact across our entire economy that’s in dire need of …
