According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2016 America will need a million new direct-care workers. That is more than the number of teachers needed to educate our children. Investment in direct- care jobs in eldercare/disability services will enable us to meet the demand and spur economic growth.
High Growth Sector
Eldercare/disability services is projected to be one of the country’s leading employment growth industries, with jobs in this sector increasing three times as fast as jobs within the economy as a whole. Within the health care and health assistance sector, the eldercare/disability services industry is the key driver of job growth. Employment within eldercare/disability services is expected to increase 35 percent over the decade, compared to 18 percent for all other jobs in the health care and health assistance sector.
Two direct-care worker occupations in particular—Personal and Home Care Aides and Home Health Aides—are expected to be the second and third fastest-growing occupations in the nation, increasing at rates of about 50 percent from 2006 to 2016.
Shortage of Workers
A serious care gap is occuring as the number of people over 65 is outpacing the number of people that normally enter the caregiving workforce. Many direct-care worker jobs are poor quality with low wages and no or inadequate health insurance. This contributes to high turnover rates within the workforce —more than 70 percent in nursing homes, and between 40 and 60 percent in home care agencies—which effects quality of care. Direct-care workers are more than twice as likely to be uninsured than the general public.
Poor Quality Jobs Cost All of Us
Poor quality direct-care jobs strain public resources. The vast majority of direct-care jobs are publicly funded, paid for by Medicaid and Medicare. However, high rates of annual turnover lead to staggering turnover costs conservatively totaling $5 billion annually. In addition, 40 percent of direct-care workers live in households that rely on one or more public benefits, such as Medicaid or food stamps, reflecting the heavy public subsidies required to compensate for the low wages and inadequate benefits received by most of these workers.
Investing in direct-care worker jobs by providing health insurance benefits to workers is one important step to stabilizing and growing the workforce in order to meet the demand for care. More details and solutions are outlined in this fact sheet (pdf).
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