Imagine This: The Economy Grinds to a Halt as 67 Million+ Working Parents Call it Quits

What Would a Day Without Working Parents - Nurses, Teachers, Bus Drivers - Do to the US Economy And How Can We Prevent It?

September 16, 2024 - Monday, September 16th is officially "National Working Parents Day." Today's working parents play a critical role in the US economy and a disproportionately higher role in essential sectors such as education and healthcare. In fact, a whopping 40% of the US workforce - more than 67 million Americans - is comprised of parents with children under the age of 18, according to research by Glassdoor and The Harris Poll.

So, what if all of those working parents - teachers, school administrators, bus drivers, nurses, physicians, engineers, bankers, lawyers and other workers spanning virtually every sector of the labor force - had to stay home? No doubt many employers, and entire industries, would have a hard time keeping up, with some simply grinding to a halt.

By the Numbers: Parents in the U.S. Workforce

According to a report released just earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least one parent is employed in 92% of families with children under the age of 18 and both parents are employed in two-thirds (67%) of married-couple families with children.

In some sectors, the percentage of employees that are working parents with children under 18 at home is even higher for example:

• 48% of educators are parents according to research by The Brookings Institution and
• 42% of health workers are parents according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• And working mothers comprise a disproportionately higher percentage of workers education, healthcare and social services, too, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Overall, working mothers are feeling the brunt. A majority (55%) of U.S. mothers with children younger than 18 at home are employed full time, up from 34% a half-century ago, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau Current Population Survey data.

Across industries, working parents play an important role and have a significant impact on the economy - and it's critical that employers support them to keep them in the workforce. As one poignant example, The Center for American Progress estimated working parents' impact at $2 trillion during the period they studied of 1970-2013.

A Day Without Working Parents

A day without working parents is not as far-fetched a scenario as we might think - with the pandemic in the not-too-distant rearview mirror and a child care crisis that's continuing. Moreover, Millennial parents are the new sandwich generation, increasingly juggling not only care for their children, but care for an aging parent, too.

"National Working Parents Day is a great reminder that we need parents in the workforce and, in turn, working parents need our support," observed Priya Krishnan, Chief Transformation Officer at Bright Horizons Family Solutions and host of the Work-Life Equation podcast. "Employers have the opportunity to step up and help solve today's child care trilemma. They can support their working parent workforce by providing access and financial support for high quality childcare. Whether it be an on-site child care center, access to a local community center or, providing back up care days to use when regular care falls through."

Work/Life Balance is a "Non-Negotiable"

Working parents are sounding the alarm and will leave jobs for employers who offer family-friendly benefits. Bright Horizons Modern Family Index shows working parents believe working for a company that has benefits to support work/life balance is a "non-negotiable." At the top of their benefits wish list is support with childcare. Nearly half (46%) of parents reported that assistance with childcare and access to on-site childcare (43%) would be helpful - that's even more than working parents' desire for unlimited remote work (40%).

Despite this clear call for support, less than a third of working parents (29%) are getting assistance in childcare costs from their employers. "Now's the time for all employers to support their workforce and help solve today's child care crisis. ," said Bright Horizons' Krishnan.