Rising childcare prices could harm the economy

The childcare industry, including both centers and at-home care, hasn’t recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. With a decreased supply of childcare providers, prices have significantly increased.

David Brasington, PhD, the James C. and Caroline Kautz Chair in Political Economy and economics professor in the University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, has experienced this firsthand.

“I used to pay $10 an hour for help with my kids, and then it was $12 ... and then it was $15, and the last summer, I tried to get care for my own kids, babysitters wanted $23 an hour,” Brasington said.

With skyrocketing costs, some families are debating whether they should have fewer kids or if a parent should leave the workforce and become a stay-at-home parent.

“And that’s going to hurt businesses’ ability to attract workers,” Brasington said. “It hurts parents‘ ability to earn wages, and it affects the kids’ experiences. There’s a lot of benefit to interaction between parents and kids, but I think there’s also something kids learn from being in a childcare setting.”

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