Child care is critical if more parents are going to return to work.

The worker-owned co-op shut down in the spring due to staffing shortages. It reopened by raising wages and tuition.

That’s a big reason why so many women remain on the sidelines of the labor market.

The availability of affordable child care is limiting mothers’ options for returning to full-time work after the pandemic.

In Maine, home to many summer camps, a YMCA camp had to limit its capacity to 80 kids due to staffing issues.

Child care is a poorly paid profession that continues to be one of the biggest expenses for parents.

Marketplace’s senior economics contributor explains how an unreliable child care system doesn’t just hold back parents.

It’s been happening throughout the pandemic.

One result of the ongoing staff shortage is that parents may have trouble finding daycare slots for their kids.

Low pay is still an obstacle to bringing people into the field, where employment is 10% lower than before the pandemic.