Emurse

Child day care services provided about 767,000 wage and salary jobs in 2004. Also, there were about 449,000 self-employed and unpaid family workers in the industry, most of whom were family child care providers, although some were self-employed managers of child care centers. However, employment estimates understate the number of people working in this industry, because they exclude family child care provided by relatives. Also, child care workers who work in the child's home, such as nannies, are classified primarily into the private household industry.

Jobs in child day care are found across the country, mirroring the distribution of the population. However, day care centers are less common in rural areas, where there are fewer children to support a separate facility. Child day care operations vary in size, from the self-employed person caring for a few children in a private home to the large corporate-sponsored center employing a sizable staff. Almost half of all wage and salary jobs in 2004 were located in establishments with fewer than 20 employees. Nearly all establishments have fewer than 50 workers (chart 1).

Opportunities for self-employment in this industry are among the best in the economy. About 37 percent of all workers in the industry are self-employed and unpaid family workers, compared with only 7 percent in all industries. This disparity reflects the ease of entering the child day care business.

The median age of child day care providers is 38, compared with 44 for all workers. About 18 percent of all care providers are 24 years or younger (table 1). About 5 percent of these workers are below the age of 20, reflecting the minimal training requirements for many child day care positions.