To explore whether decades of policy reshaped the child care workforce, I drew on 35 years of nationally representative data from the Current Population Survey (1990-2025) in a new study.1 Rather than treat child care as a single industry, I disaggregate it into three distinct settings: school-, center-, and home-based care. I examine the demographic composition and economic conditions within each over time and then benchmark them against the broader female and low-wage labor markets. The data tell a consistent story: Child care workers are more educated and better paid than they were in 1990, but they are still falling behind other women and low-wage workers.
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