The caregiving crisis is a workforce crisis
The U.S. has complex systems in place to support nearly every major financial milestone in life, from student loans for education and mortgages for homeownership to tax advantages for retirement. So why is caregiving for our loved ones—something that nearly 1 in 4 American workers is doing unpaid—almost completely unsupported?
The cost of care today is shockingly high, with the price of home care hitting a record $34 per hour and assisted living exceeding $5,400 a month. Childcare costs, meanwhile, have climbed roughly 30% since 2020. Many households are forced to choose between absorbing these costs or taking on the task of caregiving themselves. In either case, employers also pay a price. Caregiving-driven turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement in the workplace already cost U.S. businesses tens of billions a year.
Despite this, care-related benefits still face an uphill battle. Recently, big employers have cut back on worker benefits including parental leave, a retraction that demonstrates a decided lack of both imagination and foresight. With employee engagement at a near all time low, actions like this further underscore the disconnect between company decisions and the well-being of their workforce. Additionally widespread financial vulnerability, with 67% of U.S. workers having reported living paycheck to paycheck in 2025 and nearly 70% are struggling financially, employers and policymakers should be investing in solutions that support workers and their families and build trust—not pulling the rug out from under them.
Rising Demand and a Shrinking Workforce
As America’s population ages, demand for care is accelerating—but the workforce needed to deliver that care isn’t keeping pace. Immigrants make up more than a quarter of long-term care workers, yet policy shifts have constrained this pipeline, exacerbating labor shortages. The result is a labor shortage that pushes prices even higher for families already at their breaking point.
Childcare faces similar constraints. Because daycare centers operate on razor-thin margins, even small increases in expenses can be devastating. These increased costs are passed directly to families, and even then, providers are often forced to fold, reducing access to affordable childcare even further.
How Employers Can Help
The problem is often framed as a social issue or policy gap. But it’s also a business problem. The workplace is where most Americans access the resources they need to build financial health—including income, benefits, and protections. Because employers are already in charge of the mechanisms that ensure workers can withstand financial shocks, they’re uniquely positioned to help course-correct these trendlines.
What’s more, employers have both the motivation and the means to act fast. They directly experience the consequences of the caregiving crisis in the form of missed shifts, high turnover rates, and burnout, costing them billions of dollars. And while broader, policy-based solutions can take years to implement, employers can effect change much more quickly by altering their own operations.
Four Things Employers Can Do to Support Caregivers
1. Pay employees a living wage
Wages are the foundation of a solid benefits strategy. Earning at least a living wage—defined as the earnings a full-time worker must earn to cover the basic needs for a family of four with a working spouse—is the strongest predictor of financial health, and determines whether workers are able to absorb caregiving costs. Without a stable living wage, every disruption feels like a crisis.
2. Guarantee paid family leave
Paid leave keeps employees attached to the workforce during periods of acute need, reducing permanent exits. Employees with paid leave are significantly more likely to report greater financial and mental well-being.
3. Offset the cost of childcare
Childcare is one of the largest and least stable expenses facing working families. While employer support paying for childcare is still gaining traction in workplaces, research already points to the efficacy of these benefits in supporting financial health. Even partial subsidies can reduce attrition and make continued employment viable.
4. Design jobs with built-in flexibility
Predictable schedules, protected time, and clear boundaries are low-cost interventions with outsized impact, reducing the daily friction that forces caregivers out of the workforce. Even simple practices like shared calendars with “Do Not Schedule” blocks can reduce mental stress for caregivers, empower employees to manage personal needs without using full PTO, and support productivity.
Why Financial Health Matters for the Economy
Caregiving constraints are already shaping labor force participation—and limiting economic growth. Analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families found that if the U.S. adopted caregiving and family leave policies similar to those of other advanced economies, it could add nearly 4.85 million more women to the workforce and boost annual GDP by as much as $775 billion.
If we truly want an inclusive, resilient workforce, we need to place financial health at the center of designing employee benefits and other workplace policies. At the Financial Health Network, we have conducted extensive research on this, through our report on Essential Benefits, which highlights the need for a more holistic approach. More importantly, we need to start thinking of benefits like paid caregiving leave less as one-off solutions, and more as strategic investments that promote long-term economic growth and workforce resiliency.
The consequences for individual employers are clear as well. As costs rise and supply constraints persist, companies that recognize caregiving as essential infrastructure will be better positioned to retain talent, maintain productivity, and compete in a tightening labor market.
