Research shows that mothers of young children accounted for nearly a quarter of the unanticipated employment loss related to COVID-19. Access to affordable, reliable child care was a challenge before the pandemic, and has only gotten worse since. The low-wage-work/high-cost-service conundrum of the child care sector has led the Treasury Department to deem the industry a market failure. This implies a need for public sector support, and given the impact to businesses in need of a labor supply, also suggests a role for employers to step in.
