With unpaid caregiving tied to major workplace losses, families face record-breaking care costs while employers cut benefits. MISRYOUM examines why the caregiving crisis has become a workforce crisis—driving turnover, absenteeism, and higher labor strain—and w
The caregiving workload is showing up where employers feel it most: on missed shifts, burned-out staff, and workplaces that increasingly struggle to keep people.
Nearly 1 in 4 American workers is doing unpaid caregiving for a loved one—often while trying to hold onto a job and make ends meet. The gap between what families need and what workplaces provide has become harder to ignore as the price of care rises. Home care is now hitting a record $34 per hour, while assisted living costs exceed $5,400 a month. Childcare costs have climbed roughly 30% since 2020.
For many households, the math is brutal: families are forced to either absorb these costs or take on caregiving themselves. In both cases, employers absorb the spillover. Caregiving-driven turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement in the workplace already cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars each year.
Even as demand rises, benefits are not necessarily keeping up. Big employers have recently cut back on worker benefits including parental leave—an apparent retrenchment that leaves many workers worse positioned at the exact moment they need stability. With employee engagement at a near all-time low. those benefit cuts add to a sense that company decisions are not aligned with the well-being of their workforce.
Financial pressure is only intensifying outside the office. In 2025, 67% of U.S. workers reported living paycheck to paycheck, and nearly 70% are struggling financially. In that environment, pulling back on support can make survival harder for families—and more disruptive for employers.
Demand for care is rising just as the workforce able to provide it is shrinking. America’s population is aging, and long-term care demand is accelerating. Immigrants make up more than a quarter of long-term care workers. yet policy shifts have constrained this pipeline. worsening labor shortages. The shortage doesn’t stay theoretical: it pushes prices higher for families already at their breaking point.
Childcare faces a parallel squeeze. Daycare centers operate on razor-thin margins, and even small expense increases can be devastating. Those increased costs are passed to families, and providers are often forced to fold—reducing access to affordable childcare even further.
The problem is often treated as a social issue or a policy gap. In practice, it behaves like a business problem. Most Americans access the resources that shape financial health—income, benefits, and protections—through the workplace. Employers also experience the consequences directly, from missed shifts to high turnover rates and burnout.
There is a timing advantage, too. While broader, policy-based solutions can take years to implement, employers can change their own operations much more quickly.
What’s left is a stark mismatch between the costs of care and the supports available to workers—especially when financial vulnerability is so widespread. The record prices families face for home care and assisted living. the roughly 30% climb in childcare costs since 2020. and the fact that caregiving already costs U.S. businesses tens of billions each year all point to the same reality: the caregiving crisis doesn’t sit outside the economy. It runs through it.
Four steps are available now for employers who want to reduce disruption and keep caregivers attached to work.
First, pay employees a living wage. Wages are the foundation of a benefits strategy. and earning at least a living wage—defined here as the earnings a full-time worker must earn to cover basic needs for a family of four with a working spouse—is described as the strongest predictor of financial health. Without that stability, every disruption becomes a crisis.
Second, guarantee paid family leave. Paid leave helps keep employees attached to the workforce during acute periods of need, reducing permanent exits. Employees with paid leave are significantly more likely to report greater financial and mental well-being.
Third, offset the cost of childcare. Childcare is identified as one of the largest and least stable expenses facing working families. Employer support paying for childcare is still gaining traction. but research already points to the efficacy of these benefits in supporting financial health. Even partial subsidies can reduce attrition and make continued employment viable.
Fourth, design jobs with built-in flexibility. Predictable schedules, protected time, and clear boundaries are framed as low-cost interventions with outsized impact. Even simple practices—such as shared calendars with “Do Not Schedule” blocks—can reduce mental stress for caregivers. allow employees to manage personal needs without using full PTO. and support productivity.
The stakes go beyond individual companies. Caregiving constraints are shaping labor force participation and limiting economic growth. Analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families found that if the U.S. adopted caregiving and family leave policies similar to those of other advanced economies. it could add nearly 4.85 million more women to the workforce and boost annual GDP by as much as $775 billion.
The message for policymakers and employers is linked, but the responsibility is not identical. With so many workers living paycheck to paycheck or struggling financially. employers and policymakers are being urged to invest in solutions that support workers and their families and build trust—rather than pulling the rug out from under people at the exact moment care needs rise.
For companies facing rising costs and persistent supply constraints, the pathway is also practical. Businesses that treat caregiving as essential infrastructure. rather than an employee “side issue. ” are described as better positioned to retain talent. maintain productivity. and compete in a tightening labor market.
In other words: the caregiving crisis is not only a human problem. It is already a workforce crisis—and it is arriving on the balance sheet.
caregiving crisis unpaid caregiving paid family leave childcare costs home care costs assisted living costs employee engagement turnover absenteeism labor shortage living wage financial health