This article is part of a partnership between The Mendocino Voice and nonprofit newsroom EdSource to bring relevant education-related news to Mendocino County readers. Learn more about EdSource here.
MENDOCINO CO., 12/4/24 – Child care costs as much as rent for many families at inflation’s peak, federal data shows.
Families spent anywhere from $6,552 to $15,600 on average for full-day care per child in 2022, the latest year with available data, NBC reported.
“These costs are just untenable for an awful lot of families,” said Gretchen Livingston, the branch chief for quantitative research at the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau, which conducted the study.
Roughly 13 million of the nation’s 63 million parents depend on child care providers, the Labor Department estimates. Costs tend to be higher for families with infants, those living in larger counties and those using child care centers, NBC reported.
Care work is historically undervalued, Livingston said, and disproportionately impacts women. A 10% increase in child care prices is associated with a 1% drop in women’s employment, her research suggests.
This article first appeared at EdSource here.
This is why so many women become stay at home moms. Its literally less expensive to stay home with them then to go get a job. Everyone wondering what’s the matter with that ? Well, remember how everyone got depressed and alcoholism blossomed during the stay at home of covid ? 1/3 of moms are stay at homers
Where’s the representation ? We rely solely on the good mood of our husbands. It’s archaic.