Facts In Action

The Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) has released a report presenting national salary information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for preschool teachers and child care workers. The BLS defines a preschool teacher as a person who instructs children in a preschool program, day care center, or other child development facility in activities designed to promote social, physical and intellectual growth. On the other hand, a child care worker is defined as a person who attends to children in schools, businesses, households, and child care institutions by dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play. These BLS distinctions are a bit misleading because most teaching and caregiving staff members take part in both types of activities during the course of a day, regardless of their job title.

According to the BLS, in 2000:

• the average hourly wage for all U.S. child care workers was $7.86;
  
• the average hourly wage for preschool teachers was $9.66; and,
  
• the average hourly wage for a kindergarten teacher was $26.82.

According to the CCW, the child care workforce suffers from a higher concentration of poverty-level jobs than almost any other occupation in the United States. With an estimated annual turnover rate between 30 and 40 percent throughout the country, clearly current wages are insufficient to secure a skilled and stable child care workforce or to guarantee high-quality services for children and families.

Source:
Current Data on Child Care Salaries and Benefits in the United States, Center for the Child Care Workforce, March 2002.

For more information:
contact: Center for the Child Care Workforce, 733 15th Street NW, Suite 1037, Washington, DC 20005-2112, call (202) 737-7700, or look online at www.ccw.org/pubs/2002Compendium.pdf

Facts in Action, October 2002