The child care workforce is severely underpaid and is struggling to rebound to pre-pandemic levels. The average pay in the industry is just over $13 an hour.And, a lack of workers has huge implications for the economy, as working parents seek employment or return to the office.The latest jobs data shows the sector is slowly inching back.Caitlin McLean runs multi-state and international programs for the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley. She and her team reviewed data specific to people who work in child care for little ones, like Headstart and preschool, and also other programs for school-aged children. But their analysis doesn’t include workers who are self-employed, like those who operate daycares out of their home.Interview highlightsOn what she learned from recent child care services jobs data“Our latest report shows we’ve gained about 5,000 jobs most recently. But, we lost a lot of jobs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, really about a third of jobs. Since then, we’ve been tracking to see how the sector is faring. And over the summer, we saw some stagnation, even some decline. But most recently, we have seen a little bit of an uptick. I think folks are hopeful, but we’re not out of the woods just yet because we’re still down about 8% compared with where we were before the pandemic.”On why reco …
Not ‘out of the woods’ yet: Latest jobs data shows child care jobs slowly returning – WBUR News
