Child care workers leaving the workforce in large numbers

While many industries struggle with staffing the child care sector is on the brink of a collapse. If this doesn't concern you directly, it will soon because this fall has a ripple effect throughout the economy. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said and the current child-care system "is a classic example of a broken market" it just cannot continue to work as it is. Biden proposed the largest federal investment in the child-care sector in the hopes to transform it. This is where the problem starts, child-care workers get paid the absolute minimum for a full-time job, $11 for an hour. Now with the staffing crisis at its peak, these employees are being poached by retail chains and other industries offering a much higher compensation ($15 per hour) and benefits. South Shore Stars' early childhood program in Weymouth received zero applications for the position of the child-care employee. This is a program that on a regular basis gets 200 applicants. The childcare crisis is affecting the population of working parents as offices start to re-open, many parents especially women are unable to go back to work. Childcare centers are not open or are refusing the intake of kids due to the lack of employees, this, in turn, prohibits parents especially mothers from going back to work. Women in their early and late twenties who are the likely candidates for such roles are opting to work as administrative assistants and bank clerks with better pay and benefits. Staffing is much more difficult in the childcare sector than in other industries because of government rules and restrictions such as one caregiver for every 3-5 kids. Its also becoming increasingly difficult to conduct credible background checks on the employees.

Source: The Washington Post