Child Care Disruptions

Child care disruptions continue to affect 1 in 5 families, forcing 1.3 million adults to leave their jobs between July and August.

Child care disruptions, Jul 27 - Aug 8, 2022

Percent of households where children < 5 years were unable to attend child care in last 4 weeks

Source: Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Note: Universe is adults in households with children under 5 years of age.

Though child care disruptions have dramatically declined since early 2022, the share of families with children under 5 who experience child care disruptions has held relatively steady since May 2022. Nearly 1 in 5 adults experienced a child care disruption at some point during the 4 weeks ending August 8, 2022. Due to disruptions in child care, 1.9 million parents cut work hours, 1.6 million parents took unpaid leave, 1.3 million left their jobs, and another 365,000 lost a job.

As employment rates near pre-pandemic numbers (Employment Rate, By Sex), many families have struggled to keep up with fluctuating child care availability.¹ A new study finds that while parenting time increased for both men and women from 2019 to 2020, women spent 20% more of their time parenting while juggling work or other responsibilities.² For working women, the amount of time they spent parenting and working increased by double that of men — by 98 minutes compared to 46 minutes, respectively.

Leaders in the child care sector remain deeply concerned about child care staff shortages and waning funding to keep doors open.³ The child care industry still has 10% fewer workers than before the pandemic. Child care workers face high levels of burnout and stress coupled with low wages, often resulting in high turnover.^4,5,6 Operating costs for child care centers are nontrivial, leaving little in the budget to increase wages.⁷ American Rescue Plan dollars to support these costs are only a temporary relief, as experts say the sector has been underfunded for decades.⁸ A long-term investment in child care will be a critical step in stabilizing the sector.

1. “For many U.S. moms, pandemic brought increase in time spent caring for kids while doing other things”. Aragão. Pew Research Center. October, 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/10/11/for-many-u-s-moms-pandemic-brought-increase-in-time-spent-caring-for-kids-while-doing-other-things/ 

2. “Gender Disparities in Increased Parenting Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Research Note”. Augustine, Prickett. Demography. August, 2022. https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/59/4/1233/316116/Gender-Disparities-in-Increased-Parenting-Time?searchresult=1 

3. “Child care centers can’t afford to stay open. Here’s what this means for families”. Cohen. CNN. July, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/06/economy/rising-cost-child-care/index.html 

4. “Child Care Sector Jobs”. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. October, 2022. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/brief/child-care-sector-jobs-bls-analysis/

5. “Childcare Professionals Endured Higher Rates of Depression, Stress, and Asthma During the Pandemic, U.S. Study Reveals”. Yale School of Medicine. October, 2022. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/childcare-professionals-endured-higher-rates-of-depression-stress-and-asthma-during-the-pandemic-us-study-reveals/

6. “Childcare Workers”. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm 

7. “Why do parents pay so much for child care when early educators earn so little?” Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. April, 2020. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/infographic/why-do-parents-pay-so-much-for-child-care-when-early-educators-earn-so-little/ 

8. “The American Rescue Plan Shored Up Child Care, But a Long-Term Solution Is Necessary”. Gibbs, Falgout. Center for American Progress. March, 2022. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-american-rescue-plan-shored-up-child-care-but-a-long-term-solution-is-necessary/