--- title: Child Care Can Strengthen the Workforce description: Child Care Can Strengthen the Workforce image: https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/hubfs/CC%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20MO-1.png --- [![Child Care Aware of Missouri Logo](https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Child%20Care%20Aware%20Logo%20(1).png?width=666&height=414&name=Child%20Care%20Aware%20Logo%20(1).png "Child Care Aware of Missouri Logo")](https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication) Open main menu Close main menu [Community Data](https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication/tag/community-data) # Child Care Can Strengthen the Workforce [Child Care Aware® of Missouri](https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication/author/child-care-aware-of-missouri) [Share this blog post via Email](mailto:?subject=%3Cspan+id%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper_name%22+class%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper+hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field+hs_cos_wrapper_type_text%22+style%3D%22%22+data-hs-cos-general-type%3D%22meta_field%22+data-hs-cos-type%3D%22text%22+%3EChild+Care+Can+Strengthen+the+Workforce%3C%2Fspan%3E&body=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post%3A+https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication/cd-child-care-can-strengthen-the-workforce) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication/cd-child-care-can-strengthen-the-workforce) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/partner-publication/cd-child-care-can-strengthen-the-workforce) ![](https://partnerpublication.mochildcareaware.org/hubfs/CC%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20MO-1.png) Excerpt from *On the Economy Blog* of the **Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis** Child Care Can Strengthen the Workforce April 13, 2023 By [Ana Hernández Kent](https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/apr/child-care-critical-economy-difficult-access-afford#authorbox) , [Xiaohan Zhang](https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/apr/child-care-critical-economy-difficult-access-afford#authorbox) Child care provides an essential service for parent workers and their families. [Two-thirds of mothers and 94% of fathers](https://www.stlouisfed.org/community-development/child-care-economic-impact) with children under age 6 work or are actively looking for work, according to the St. Louis Fed webpage “The Economic Impact of Child Care by State.” Child care (whether formal or informal) is necessary for them to participate in the labor force. Further, since most people become parents, the advantages and challenges related to child care are widespread. When the child care system doesn’t fully meet parents’ needs, one parent ([typically the mother](https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2209.02743)) leaves or does not enter the labor market. Several parents who worked nontraditional hours shared their difficulties in finding child care. When a job sometimes requires 8 p.m. meetings, obtaining child care is not possible, said one parent with a child under 5. “The (child care) hours… just don’t fit for the type of work that I do,” the parent noted. There are numerous benefits to supporting parents who want or need employment. Employed parents improve their family’s financial security, contribute to companies’ productivity by addressing labor shortages and provide a broader tax base for states. In other words, when parents—particularly mothers—can work, the [economy is stronger and more productive](https://fedcommunities.org/benefits-supporting-working-moms/). There are also negative consequences when child care availability is restricted. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, shutdowns, closures, reduced hours and staff shortages were prevalent, which severely impacted parents and providers. Women, particularly mothers, [disproportionately left the labor force](https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2021/pandemic-pushes-mothers-of-young-children-out-of-the-labor-force), and the [nation lost more than 98,000 child care workers](https://www.stlouisfed.org/community-development/child-care-economic-impact)—a substantial drop of 11% between February 2020 and December 2021. Challenges with supply, access and affordability [predate the pandemic but were exacerbated](https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/child-care-crisis-COVID-19) by it. Moreover, these challenges are inequitably distributed. [*Source: Child Care: Critical to the Economy but Difficult to Access and Afford*. (n.d.). www.stlouisfed.org.](https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/apr/child-care-critical-economy-difficult-access-afford)[https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/apr/child-care-critical-economy-difficult-access-afford](https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/apr/child-care-critical-economy-difficult-access-afford) ---   Child Care Aware® of Missouri – Data & Analysis Services Our comprehensive data analytic services include child care, demographic, economic, and social data to help your business grow. We offer customized data reports, analysis, and geographic mapping to interpret and visualize data. Contact us today. 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