NEW YORK, United States: In the United States, parents of young children face a challenging situation where daycare centers are in short supply or prohibitively expensive.
This situation has forced many parents, primarily mothers, to stay at home to care for their children.
Kevin Schreiber, who leads a business leaders association in York County, Pennsylvania, noted that this issue existed previously but has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
During a recent visit by Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, and Patrick Harker, Chairman of its Philadelphia branch, to meet with local economic leaders, it was evident that the absence of accessible and affordable daycare has made it exceedingly difficult for individuals to secure or retain employment.
This predicament is particularly pronounced as the country grapples with a significant labor shortage. In regions like York, located between Washington and New York, nearly 20 percent of daycare centers have closed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Schreiber, those that remain operational are often functioning at only 85 percent capacity due to a shortage of staff.
Nationwide, approximately 16,000 daycare centers, or 10 percent, have shut down since 2020, as reported by the Council for Professional Recognition, which accredits such facilities.
The consequence of this crisis is that more than 20 percent of families, typically led by mothers, have had to leave the workforce to personally provide childcare, resulting in a significant loss of household income, as Calvin Moore, head of the Council.
Even for those fortunate enough to afford childcare, the financial burden is substantial, with approximately 25 percent of household income allocated to this expense, according to Kim Bracey of the YWCA association in York.
For families with two parents, tough decisions about who should work and stay home are commonplace, and some resort to using credit cards and incurring high-interest debt to cover childcare costs.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell highlighted that advanced economy democracies with more comprehensive childcare support tend to have higher female labor force participation rates. The United States, despite strong growth in the 1970s and 1980s, has lagged in recent decades, with only Italy having a lower share of working-age women in the workforce among major advanced economies.
In August, the rate of female participation in the labor force in the US reached 57.7 percent, returning to pre-pandemic levels but still below the historic high of 60.3 percent in April 2000.
Economists suggest that the US could close the gender labor force participation gap with other advanced economies over the next five years through flexible work schedules, extended parental leave, reduced fertility pressures, and support for working parents.
In response to the shortage of daycare centers, the York business community has initiated efforts, raising substantial funds for various initiatives. These initiatives aim to address not only the accessibility of quality and affordable childcare but also the development of educators in the childcare industry.
This initiative is essential as absenteeism, mainly due to childcare challenges, is a leading concern for employers in York and across the country, according to Schreiber.
Childcare is a nationwide issue, emphasized Demietra Middleton, a Harley Davidson’s York factory human resources manager. She stressed the importance of finding ways to support businesses and the broader community in addressing this pressing challenge. —APP
