1. Key Workforce
Facts
December 2011

2. More than 2.5 million home care workers
Source: Caring in America, p. 4.

3. Performing tasks in 4 realms
• Self-care assistance
• Everyday tasks
• Social supports
• Paramedical tasks

4. Among the fastest growing jobs in the
country, 2008-2018
Source: PHI, Facts 1: Occupational Projections for Direct-Care
Workers, 2008-2018.

5. Among the jobs adding the most new
positions (due to growth), 2008-2018
Source: PHI, Facts 1: Occupational Projections for Direct-Care
Workers, 2008-2018.

6. Home care worker demographics
• Mostly female (88% female)
• Older (50% over age 45)
• 60% non-white
• 55% with high school education or less
• A quarter foreign born
Source: Caring in America, p. 10.

7. Main employers
• Home care agencies
providing non-medical personal
care services
• Consumers and families

8. Growth in home care business locations
(“establishments”)
Source: Caring in America, p. 20.

9. Estimated industry revenue (millions of dollars)
Source: Caring in America, p. 22.

10. Wages are low and stagnant
Source: Caring in America, p. 53.

11. Uncompetitive wages
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, 2010.

12. Part-time work common
Source: Caring in America, p. 61.

13. High rates of uninsurance
Source: Caring in America, p. 55.

14. Public subsidies required to meet basic needs
Source: Caring in America, p. 58.

15. Turnover endemic
• Small-scale studies show PCA turnover at 44 - 65%
• 2007 National Home Health Aide Survey: 35% of
home health aides intend to quit in next year
(~56,000 workers)
• Turnover “predictors”
– Low wages
– Not enough hours
– No reimbursement for travel costs
Source: Caring in America, Section 10.

16. Incidence of overtime modest
9% percentage of home care workers
nationally that report working more than 40
hours/week
Why so low?
• Most states are “low-hour” Medicaid states
• Many agencies use staffing and scheduling
practices that minimize overtime
Source: Caring in America, Section 8.

17. Involuntary part-time work -- a far bigger
problem
Source: Caring in America, p. 61.

18. Agencies charge nearly twice what
caregivers are paid
Type of Service National Average Cost National Average
of Services (per hour) Starting Pay for
Caregivers (per hour)
Companionship $18.75 $8.92
Homemaker Services $18.90 $9.10
Personal Care $19.82 $9.69
Home Health Services $22.37 $11.78
Source: National Private Duty Association (2009) State of Caregiving
Industry Survey.

19. For more information, contact:
Dorie Seavey, Director of Policy Research
dseavey@phinational.org ● 617-630-1694
Abby Marquand, Policy Research Associate
amarquand@phinational.org ● 718-928-2062
Visit PHI PolicyWorks at: www.phinational.org/policy