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The Labor Market for Childcare Workers

Abstract: Each day, millions of parents rely on childcare workers to care for their young children. The labor market for childcare workers determines the wages paid to these workers and affects the operating costs of childcare businesses as well as the price and availability of childcare. As part of our Spotlight on Childcare and the Labor Market—a targeted effort to understand how access to childcare can affect employment and the economy—we use several data sources to study the paid childcare labor market.1 We first describe who childcare workers are, how many there are, where they work, and how much they make. Then we discuss how often these workers leave the childcare sector and where they go for other employment. Understanding the labor market for childcare workers is critical to understanding the challenges that families can face while attempting to access reliable, affordable, and convenient childcare.

Keywords: Childcare;

JEL Classification: J01; J13; J22;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Publication Date: 2024-06