Child care is an activity that is suffering from a labor shortage, to the extent that average costs have increased to more than $20 dollars per hour in the United States.
Inflation continues to affect the pockets of consumers and has spread to an activity that for many people is very important to be able to carry out their work activities.
Axios released an analysis of UrbanSitter, with the reservation data of more than 000,000 families to calculate child care rates nationwide.
The study revealed that the average hourly rate of a babysitter increased by 11% in 2021 to $21.57 per hour, far exceeding the inflation rate of 7%, since the shortage of labor made care providers child care were more difficult to find.
The increase represents a great blow for many working fathers and mothers. But the higher salaries are excellent news for nannies, who have traditionally been underpaid.
The survey found an increase in the rate of 10% in 2021, which contrasts with childcare rates in 2019 and 2020, when it was only 3.9%.
“The potholes we saw last year were really disproportionate to anything we’ve seen before,” Lynn Perkins, founder and CEO of UrbanSitter.
Annual increases of 4% to 5% were typical in the past, but “this is the first year we’ve seen it really significantly outperform inflation.”
By the numbers: The national average rate for childcare is $20.57 the hour for a child, $23.25 the hour for two and $24.45 the time for three.
Perkins expects child care subsidies become more generous and common: “We are seeing that more companies and more people are aware of the need for child care.”
Average hourly cost of caring for a child in:
New York, $23.45 dollars
San Francisco, $23.32
Seattle, $21.21
National average rate, $20.57
Los Angeles, $21.23
Boston, $19.96
Raleigh, $19.94
Phoenix, $20.81
Washington DC, $19.79
Miami, $20.31
The analysis revealed that the lowest rates were in San Antonio, at $14 an hour for a child and that vaccinated caregivers get higher wages.
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