Childcare and Our Workforce
In for another Chamber Minute, is Rosey.
We talk a lot about workforce — finding good employees, keeping good employees, and helping our local businesses grow. But there is another piece of the workforce conversation that sometimes gets overlooked: childcare.
For many working parents, finding childcare isn’t simply a matter of convenience. It can determine whether they can work at all.
According to the Oregon Child Care Research Partnership at Oregon State University, Coos County has 7,248 children under the age of 13, but only 1,082 childcare slots in centers and family childcare homes.
That means only 15% of children under 13 have access to visible childcare.
And then there is the cost. The same 2024 Coos County profile reports that the median annual price of toddler care at a childcare center is $15,120 — enough to consume 54% of a minimum-wage worker’s annual earnings.
Those numbers tell us something important: childcare is not just a family issue. It is a workforce issue.
When a parent can’t find care, can’t afford care, or can’t find care that fits their work schedule, businesses can lose employees, lose hours of productivity, or lose potential employees who simply can’t enter the workforce.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has identified childcare as a significant workforce issue, reporting that childcare challenges contribute to employee absences and turnover and can cost employers hundreds of millions — even billions — of dollars.
Here at home, this is a conversation worth having. If we want our businesses to grow and our workforce to grow, we need to look at all the pieces that make it possible for people to work.
Sometimes workforce development starts before someone ever walks through the workplace door.
And as always,
our business is helping your business.
