BUFFALO, N.Y. — Representatives from Erie County, Cornell University and other stakeholders unveiled data from a newly released child care study.
The study, which was commissioned using CARES Act funding, highlights that there has been an 11 percent loss in child care workers between 2019 and 2020.
On average, a child care worker makes a little over $10 per hour.
The study also highlighted that child care workers in the county report working upwards to 1,000 hours per year without getting paid.
"We have extremely low wages for child care workers," according to Maria Whyte, Erie County's deputy county executive. "And that has contributed to a child care worker shortage, a massive exodus of child care workers out of the child care system, that has in turn contributed to child care centers closing, which means there are fewer childcare spots available to working families, which means millions of women nationwide have dropped out of the workforce.
"And then suddenly businesses report all over the country that there is a labor shortage and they can't hire workers. "
The study also highlighted that half of all child care workers lack employer health care options.
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