However, with growing demand and a lack of workers, the basic economy says that wages simply have to rise. The problem is that home care is dominated by a single payer. Yes, some of it is paid privately through long-term care insurance or personal savings. The employee can stay there for eight hours or whatever her scheduled shift is, and finish, while, in the case of home health care, we ask the caregiver to show up at a client's house, work for a specific time, get in her car and drive to the other side of town.
Unfortunately, the salaries of these paid caregivers are still much lower than the salaries that all workers take home. Therefore, it is somewhat disconcerting, at least at first glance, that these professional caregivers are among the lowest paid workers in the country; some must seek a second job just to make ends meet. And while the salaries of paid caregivers aren't high enough for these priceless workers, individuals and families who need these services are being discounted due to rising costs, as the costs of all three care industries have outpaced general inflation over the past decade, without realizing the true value of this work. However, these higher salaries cannot be considered a living wage for anyone with a child anywhere in the country, and wage increases for paid caregivers in all sectors have been uneven during the years of the pandemic.
