Stephen Nuñez: The difference in prime age labor force participation in Canada (higher) and the US seems like it can be attributed largely to lack of childcare options (and gendered work norms that mean it is the mother who stays home).

During the pandemic, more than 100,000 workers left the industry, and more than 16,000 child care centers permanently closed. Child care costs have since risen more than 30%. www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

A lack of child care is keeping this 43-year-old mother of four out of the workforcewww.nbcnews.com Stefanie Longenecker left her job to care for her kids during Covid-era school closures. Despite several tough years with less income, she’s still hopeful. “It does seem like things are improving.”

The difference in prime age labor force participation in Canada (higher) and the US seems like it can be attributed largely to lack of childcare options (and gendered work norms that mean it is the mother who stays home).

That's believable. In California we've found that there are only enough childcare spaces in licensed facilities to cover about 1 in 4 children in working-parent households. (And that doesn't account for households where an adult has left the labor force for childcare.)

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