The easiest way to get people back to the office? Free childcare

Childcare is currently so expensive that parents are dropping out of the workforce.

According to the most recent stats from the Census Bureau, the mean amount spent on childcare in the seven days prior to the research was $325.39.

Multiply this by 52 and you get $16,920 as a mean annual sum, while for those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher, the mean sum was higher at $377.77, which adds up to $19,644 annually.

The stats drill down further to look at the mean amount spent on childcare compared to household income.

While those earning less than $25,000 spent on average $296 in the previous seven days on childcare, this figure remains around the same right up to the $100,000-$149,999 pay bracket.

Clearly lower income households are feeling the most squeeze, with the lowest bracket spending 62% of their salary on childcare.

Comparatively, workers in the $50,000-$74,999 band pay 28% to 19%, the $75,000-$99,999 cohort pay 22% to 15%, and the $100,000-$149,999 group pay 14% to 10%.

Childcare costs cited increase after these groupings. For households with an income of $150,000-$199,999, costs for the last seven days was $335 (between 8% to 12% of annual salary), and this rises to $467 for households earning $200,000 and above (12% of annual salary).

Meanwhile, according to a national representative survey of 2,091 U.S. adults, 48% of parents of children under five-years old would consider being a stay-at-home parent if childcare accounted for a quarter of their salary.

Daily office costs add up

Add to this, a new Owl Labs report on hybrid working highlights how much in-office workers spend day-to-day on commuting, lunch and the occasional coffee (around $51 a day).

It also looks at what benefits would really sway hybrid workers to return to their cubes.

It found that a third of workers say free or subsidized meals, snacks and beverages would be a draw, while over a quarter (28%) said on-site alternatives for childcare or eldercare would encourage them to be back in the office.

It’s no longer just parents complaining they must pay to work, since work-from-home became commonplace, now all workers are conscious of the cost difference between remote and in-office working, and progressive employers are coughing up benefits to aid staff retention.

Interested in finding a new role? The Hill Jobs has new opportunities updated constantly, like these three.

Director of Election Protection, Issue One

Next year will be a busy but rewarding one for the person hired into Issue One as Director of Election Protection, as they will lead a multimillion dollar communications campaign to increase trust in elections, similar to the Count Every Vote effort in 2020. This DEP will manage the National Council on Election Integrity (NCEI), spearhead the Faces of Democracy campaign of election officials and poll workers, and drive the program’s cross-partisan strategic planning and policy development, including grassroots and grasstops mobilization. The successful candidate will also represent Issue One as an election-protection expert with the executive branch, at events, and with the media. Five years plus experience leading a large-scale campaign is required, as is a mix of political, legislative, issue advocacy and Hill experience. Reporting to the chief of strategy and program, the successful candidate needs to be independent and able to self-manage. Find out more here.

Manager, Digital Communications, American Gas Association

Founded in 1918, the American Gas Association (AGA) now represents 200 local energy companies that deliver natural gas throughout the U.S.. Of the 76 million gas customers across residential, commercial and industrial, 72 million receive their gas from AGA members. Currently seeking a Manager of Digital Communications, the successful candidate will have at least an undergrad degree in communications, journalism, political science or related discipline, a minimum three years related work experience, demonstrable writing and editorial capability, and will be proficient in web and social media metric tools, like Google Analytics, Higher Logic, Axios HQ and Buffer. Working knowledge of WordPress or a similar CMS, of graphic design tools like Canvas, InDesign and Spark are also a plus. A willingness for occasional travel is also important. Apply here.

Deputy Director of Accounting and Finance, Democratic Attorneys General Association

Now hiring a Deputy Director of Accounting and Finance, the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) has three legal entities (527, 501(c)(4), and 501(c)(3)) that the successful candidate will be responsible for supporting. Working closely with compliance, ops and HR, the Deputy Director will assist and coordinate preparations for the annual audit, manage state tax filing requirements, help with the annual budgeting process, develop new processes that support timely administration, prepare reports, and lead on special projects assigned by the director of accounting and finance. The role comes with a comprehensive compensation package. See more here.

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