Search Results
Are Higher Child Care Wages Affecting the Labor Supply?
An analysis suggests that a rebound in labor force participation among women with a partner and child could have been stronger during the pandemic if not dampened by child care costs.
Journal Article
Practitioner Perspectives: Workforce Development Challenges and Opportunities in the Eighth District
Roundtables with labor force development stakeholders across the Eighth District identified housing, transportation and child care as key barriers to work.
What Can Geolocation Data Tell Us About Childcare Use and Accessibility?
In the U.S., many parents of young children may not have enough childcare providers near them, which may limit not only their childcare access but also their employment opportunities. In this article, we explore how data on people’s visiting patterns to childcare providers might help inform our understanding of the geographic distances between where families live and where providers operate, as well as how these distances and the capacity of providers can affect childcare access. Our research is part of the Chicago Fed’s Spotlight on Childcare and the Labor Market, a targeted effort to ...
Discussion Paper
Restructuring the Eligibility Policies of the Child Care and Development Fund to Address Benefit Cliffs and Affordability: Florida as a Case Study
This paper explores how the current eligibility policies of the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) create benefits cliffs that act as barriers to economic self-sufficiency. By examining Florida data and policies, the authors demonstrate how the program’s existing co-payment schedule affects the same hypothetical family living in two contrasting Florida counties: one with state median living costs and one with high living costs. The authors find that the CCDF income eligibility exit threshold is too low, particularly in high-cost counties. That occurs because the exit threshold ...
Briefing
The Pandemic, Child Care and Women’s Labor Force Participation
The pandemic has changed how households work, spend and care for children. In this Economic Brief, we highlight economic research that examines the patterns seen in women's work experiences in particular. We look at both the pandemic and, more generally, how shocks to the economy affect women's work decisions. Throughout, we will try to connect what we observe to households' broader economic environments and will emphasize — in the case of the pandemic — the role of away-from-home child care.
Journal Article
Cost of Childcare Increasingly Weighs on Labor Force Engagement
Problems attaining childcare have weighed on workers’ engagement in the labor force for some time. Afew years ago, pandemic disruptions were the primary culprit in the lower consumption of childcareservices. Now, the rising cost of childcare may be to blame. As wage growth moderates, higher childcarecosts could place added pressure on households and cause some workers to at least partially disengagefrom the workforce.
A Summary of Lending to Childcare Businesses Under Programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Childcare is a facilities-intensive industry and access to capital is critical for entrepreneurs seeking to open or expand childcare businesses. Yet experts tell us that thin profit margins and limited collateral can make it difficult for childcare business owners to get loans to operate their businesses and upgrade their facilities.
How Is the Challenge of Finding Childcare Affecting Labor Force Participation? Perspectives from Employers Across the Seventh District
Through the Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions (CFSEC) and during roundtable discussions with business, nonprofit, and government leaders, the Chicago Fed asked employers from a variety of sectors for their perspectives on how childcare access has affected labor force availability.1 These survey and roundtable findings contribute to the Chicago Fed’s Spotlight on Childcare—an effort to increase our understanding of how the lack of access to childcare impedes labor force participation in the Seventh Federal Reserve District. In this article, we summarize the responses from over 100 ...
Journal Article
Child Care Access and Affordability for Missouri’s Working Families
Read about the impact of child care on Missouri’s overall economy.
Journal Article
COVID-19’s Ongoing Effects on Early Childhood Education in St. Louis
What are the longstanding implications of the pandemic’s impact on the child care ecosystem in St. Louis?