Education & Workforce Development
Investing in the Economics of Child Care in a Post-Pandemic World BY SLOANE KAISER
COVID-19 HAS EXPOSED THE NEED for public-private solutions to challenges faced by the modern-day workforce, particularly regarding working parents. Experts agree that one of the best ways to advance economic growth is determined by the number of participants in a region’s workforce,1 and exactly who is participating in the U.S. labor force has changed over the course of the pandemic.
It is estimated that one-third of the U.S. workforce has a child under 14 in the household. So, when the pandemic disrupted typical child care arrangements, these 50 million workers had to consider alternative solutions and employment arrangements. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, more than one-third of parents—mostly women—have yet to return to jobs they lost, with one possible reason
See the Philadelphia Fed’s recent brief on child care in Delaware, available at www.philadelphiafed.org/community-development/inclusive-growth/therole-of-early-childhood-education-in-delawares-business-sector-pandemic-recovery-and-beyond. 1
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Se p t e m b er / Oc t o b e r 2021 | DELAWARE BUSINESS