Babysitting costs climb in Chicago

Babysitting rates rose 13% in Chicago in 2022 from the year prior, according to survey results caregiver-finding platform UrbanSitter provided to Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson.

• Still, it's cheaper here than much of the U.S.

The big picture: Nationally, babysitting rates rose 9.7% — a bit less than the 11% hike seen in 2021, but still outpacing inflation for the second year in a row.

• That's a staggering 21% increase in just two years, according to UrbanSitter, which looked at booking data from 15,000 U.S. families.

Why it matters: A shortage of babysitters and other child care workers — and higher pay those remaining are able to command — is creating seismic ripples in the labor market, keeping some parents at home or in precarious care arrangements.

• It's also attracting teachers, nurses and other trained professionals into the career — which in turn drives up rates, because of their experience.
• In the other direction, day care workers are quitting for higher pay elsewhere — including at custodial jobs.

Between the lines: Rates are up across all categories of care, from casual babysitting to full-time nannies to day care (where it can be hard to even get on a waitlist).

• Per a 2022 Care.com survey, 51% of U.S. parents were spending over 20% of their income on child care — far more than the 7% that the federal government deems "affordable."

Thought bubble: My kid is old enough to stay at home alone now, but this was a huge deal BEFORE the pandemic, where I was having to spend $60+ for a sitter just to go to dinner.

• And you wonder why take-out heart-shaped pizzas are all the rage on Valentine's Day.

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