Industry Earnings
In 2004, hourly earnings of nonsupervisory workers in the child day care services industry averaged $9.76, much less than the average of $15.67 throughout private industry. On a weekly basis, earnings in child day care services averaged only $299 in 2004, compared with the average of $529 in private industry. Weekly earnings reflect, in part, hours worked—salaried workers in child day care services averaged 30.6 hours a week, compared with about 33.7 throughout private industry. Earnings in selected occupations in child day care services in May 2004 appear in table 3.
| Occupation | Child day care services | All industries |
|---|---|---|
General and operations managers | $23.78 | $37.22 |
Education administrators, preschool and child care center/program | 16.01 | 17.18 |
Child, family, and school social workers | 13.80 | 16.74 |
First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers | 11.70 | 14.59 |
Preschool teachers, except special education | 9.34 | 10.09 |
Bus drivers, school | 9.28 | 11.18 |
Office clerks, general | 9.12 | 10.95 |
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 8.04 | 9.04 |
Cooks, institution and cafeteria | 7.93 | 9.10 |
Child care workers | 7.34 | 8.06 |
Employee benefits often are minimal as well. A substantial number of child day care centers offer no healthcare benefits to any teaching staff. Reduced day care fees for worker's children, however, are a common benefit. Wage levels and employee benefits depend in part on the type of center: nonprofit and religiously affiliated centers generally pay higher wages and offer more generous benefits than do for-profit establishments.
In 2004, about 3 percent of all workers in child day care services were union members or were covered by a union contract, compared with about 14 percent of workers in all industries.