February 21, 2009

History Repeats Itself

In the late 70s and early 80s, large numbers of women returned to the workplace on a full time basis. This led to a boom in the child care industry as many facilities popped up across the United States to fill the need for two income families. The child care industry increase from just under 300,000 child-care workers in 1985 to just over 800,000 workers in 2007.

History is repeating itself but this time around, the increase is in the amount of senior caregivers and facilities across our nation. According to Home Instead Senior Care, it appears that the senior care industry is following the trends of the child-care boom. Personal and home care nurses and aides are expected to grow by more than 50 percent between the years 2006 and 2016. This is an increase in jobs from 767,000 to 1.5 million according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal aides who help seniors at home with meal preperation, light housekeeping and general companionship is the second fastest growing occupation in the industry.

Boomers have been the key in fueling both industries. It was their children that boomed child-care and it is now their parents that are creating the need for new services and regulations for the elderly. This "sandwich" generation is the stimulus for industry growths and declines. Who knows if we will ever see this type of history repeat itself with future generations.

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