Forbes: Lack of Parental Leave, Affordable Childcare Leaves Gaping Hole In The U.S. Economy

Trends

The following is an excerpt of a Forbes article by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa. For the full article, click here.

The lack of a basic social safety net for families is preventing the American labor market from operating at its full potential in myriad ways.

Mary Daly, the San Francisco Fed’s new president, chose her first public remarks in Idaho Falls this week to highlight one such gap: a lack of adequate parental leave and affordable childcare options that she says are preventing millions of potential workers, mostly new parents, from entering or returning to the labor market.

Her own research looks at international comparisons to figure out why U.S. labor force participation has remained depressed despite an improving employment outlook, including the lowest unemployment rate since 1969.

US labor force participation fell sharply during the Great Recession and has failed to recover.SAN FRANCISCO FED

For the full article, click here.