For Immediate Release
July 13, 2010

Contact:
Deane Beebe, Media Relations Director
718.928.2033 (office) / 646.285.1039 (cell)
dbeebe@PHInational.org

Wages Remain Unchanged for Past Decade, New PHI Analysis Shows

New York, NY — A new PHI analysis finds that a growing number of states report that personal and home care aides are receiving wages that put them at risk of poverty.

In 2009, 36 states reported average hourly wages that fell below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, up from 32 states in 2008, according to the analysis reported in the PHI State Chart Book on Wages for Personal and Home Care Aides (pdf).

Wages below 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($10.42) are low enough to be eligible for many state and federal public assistance programs.

“That fully two-thirds of states are now reporting these kinds of low wage levels for personal care workers is very disappointing,” said Dr. Dorie Seavey, PHI director of policy research.

“These very low wages are a significant obstacle to meeting the country’s rapidly growing demand for personal assistance services,” Dr. Seavey said. “They also jeopardize the economic security of hundreds of thousands of caregivers who make it possible for others to live independently.”

The PHI Chart Book tracks wages in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and presents an entire decade of data from 1999 to 2009.

Other highlights of the wage analysis for personal and home care aides include:

• After adjusting for inflation, national wages for home care aides and personal care aides (PCAs) essentially remained unchanged over the 10-year period.
• In 2009, within the continental U.S., state nominal median wages ranged from $7.50 in Texas to $12.01 in the District of Columbia; real median wages (in 1999 dollars) ranged from $6.01 to $9.66.
• Over the 10-year period, 15 states showed a decline in real median wages for these workers. Eight states saw real wages fall by 5 percent or more.

The wages reported in the PHI State Chart Book on Wages for Personal and Home Care Aides (pdf) reflect both publicly paid and privately paid workers. More information about methodology for the analysis is available in the “Technical Notes” section of the chart book.

“PHI’s wage analysis for personal care aides is very timely. It can inform the federal government’s growing concern with improving the quality of these jobs and ensuring that there is a sufficient personal care aide workforce to meet future demand,” said Steve Edelstein, PHI national policy director.

“With the passage of health reform, for the first time, the need to improve the quality of personal care aide jobs is receiving concerted federal attention.”

There are several provisions in the national health care law that affect personal care aides, including the formation of a Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel that will be charged with examining and advising on PCA workforce issues, including wages, benefits, and access to services. The Affordable Care Act also provides funding for six states to develop Personal Care Attendant training demonstration programs that emphasize core competencies and certification of these workers.

Personal and home care aides assist elderly or disabled adults with daily living activities such as dressing, bathing, meal preparation, eating, housekeeping, and medication management, in their clients’ homes or a daytime non-residential facility.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008, there were 817,000 personal and home care aides, but that figure is believed to be seriously underestimated because it excludes significant numbers of aides who are self-employed or work directly for consumers and families.

The demand for new personal care positions is expected to grow by 46 percent by 2018. “Personal and home care aides” are the nation’s fourth fastest-growing occupational group. More information on the occupational projections for personal and home care aides is available in PHI FACTS 1 — Occupational Projections for Direct-Care Workers 2008-2018 (pdf).

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About PHI
PHI (www.phinational.org) works to improve the lives of people who need home and residential care—and the lives of the workers who provide that care. Using our workplace and policy expertise, we help consumers, workers, employers, and policymakers improve eldercare and disability services by creating quality direct-care jobs. Our goal is to ensure caring, stable relationships between consumers and workers, so that both may live with dignity, respect, and independence.