The ECE Workforce and COVID: Variation in Community Capacity and Response to the Pandemic

• In Event: 40425 - Place and Inequality

Abstract

This working paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on county-level early care and education (ECE) program capacity and employment. Analyses draw on a unique national, county-level dataset containing information about ECE sector employment from 2007 to 2023, with attention to differences by county-level urbanicity, child poverty rates, and racial and ethnic composition. We find the county-level child care and ECE sectors experienced similar shocks due to the pandemic, regardless of location or demographic composition. Counties experienced different child care employment and ECE programs rebounds by late 2023, with high-poverty counties and those in rural areas experiencing slower recoveries. There is some evidence that counties with greater racial and ethnic diversity experienced less robust recovery than counties with less racial and ethnic diversity. Evidence also suggests that geographic and demographic disparities in child care and ECE programming present before the pandemic continue to persist after pandemic.

Authors

• Scott W. Allard, University of Washington

• Julia Karon, University of Washington

• Taryn Morrissey, American University