Lack of child care costs families, business and taxpayers $122 billion: study
Summary
A new study shows that problems with finding and paying for child care cost U.S. families, businesses, and the government about $122 billion each year. This amount has more than doubled since 2018 and results from parents missing work, quitting, or being fired, which hurts earnings, business revenue, and tax income.Key Facts
- Lack of sufficient child care costs parents over $5,500 each year on average, totaling more than $78 billion.
- Businesses lose about $1,640 per working parent due to lost sales and hiring costs, adding up to $23 billion annually.
- The government loses approximately $21 billion a year in income and sales taxes because parents earn and spend less when child care is unavailable.
- The total economic loss of $122 billion annually is more than twice the $57 billion estimated in 2018.
- About 85% of main caregivers say child care problems reduce their work hours or productivity.
- 26% of parents have quit jobs and 23% have been fired because of child care issues.
- U.S. labor shortages worsen the problem, with over 11 million job openings at the end of last year.
- Some businesses, like Contec Inc., offer flexible shifts and new parental leave policies to help workers dealing with child care challenges.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
