‘We Feel Stuck’: Child Care Needs Limit Women’s Work Force Gains

Jessica Cuevas loved her job as a college counselor at a high school. But after giving birth to a son in January 2021, she switched to a remote corporate job at a grocery store chain because it gave her more flexibility and saved her commuting time. After her second son was born two years later, she quit that job, too.

She had been relying on her mother for help, but her parents have been spending more time in Mexico, leaving her without an affordable and reliable child care option.

Ms. Cuevas, who is 35 and lives in Chicago, works part time from home for an education nonprofit, though the work is sporadic and the pay is inconsistent. She wants a full-time job — in part so she and her husband can buy a bigger house — but she is concerned that the expense of child care would wipe out any financial upside.

“I feel like right now, considering the economy, considering just the cost of living, we feel stuck,” she said.

The share of women in their prime working years who are in the labor force has reached new highs coming out of the pandemic, hitting a record 78.1 percent in May.

But there are signs that the labor force participation gains among women with children under 5 has plateaued since September, according to an analysis from the Hamilton Project, an economic policy research group at the Brookings Institution.