Key ARRA/WIA Objectives

• To promote the nation’s economic recovery through job creation, employment and reemployment services.
• To stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services.
• To assist workers most impacted by the economic downturn, especially low-income populations and those on public assistance.
• To create a stronger, more comprehensive workforce investment system that fosters future economic growth and shared prosperity.

Why Direct-Care Jobs Are a Good Fit for ARRA/WIA Objectives?

Direct-care jobs have a significant impact on state and local economies

Direct-care jobs undergird local economies. They constitute a $56 billion economic engine fueled by the personal income that over 3 million direct-care workers spend largely on locally produced goods and services in their communities. Local multiplier effects double the economic impact of these jobs.

Direct-care jobs are both critical to our economy and vital to the social infrastructure that holds our society together

Direct-care jobs are plentiful and among the fastest growing; they are relatively recession-proof and can’t be outsourced; and they offer opportunities for low-income individuals, displaced workers and students. And at the same time, they deliver essential services and supports to growing numbers of individuals and families.

Demand for direct-care jobs is substantial and growing

Currently estimated at over 3 million, direct-care jobs — Personal and Home Care Aides; Home Health Aides; and Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants — are on the list of top ten occupations projected to register the largest numeric growth across the entire economy over the next decade. Projected demand, fueled in part by the needs of an aging population, calls for an additional 1 million new positions by 2016.

Eldercare/disability services constitute a leading employment growth industry

Direct-care jobs form the bulk of jobs in the eldercare/ disabilities sector, which is projected to be one of the country’s leading employment growth industries. Nationally, jobs in this sector already comprise a third of total employment in the health care and health assistance sector, and are projected to increase three times as fast as jobs within the economy as a whole.

Investing in direct-care jobs builds on and improves returns on existing public investment

The vast majority of direct-care jobs are publicly funded, paid for by Medicaid and Medicare. By investing in training and credentialing, pathways for advancement, and other aspects of job quality, states and the federal government can realize additional economic and social benefits—higher tax revenues, reduced reliance on public benefits by direct-care workers, more efficient use of Medicaid and Medicare funds due to lower turnover costs, better retention of workers, and improved quality of care for aging and disabled populations.

Transform a low-wage, high-demand employment sector by improving job quality

Often, direct-care jobs are seen as low-quality, dead-end jobs—but careful injection of public and private investment can help re-shape these critical occupations. Through improvements in training and credentialing, job design, wages and benefits, and opportunities for advancement, we can transform these jobs and build the workforce needed to meet the growing future demand for eldercare/disability services.

Resources

View the the latest BLS occupational projections by state.

To view estimates of occupational employment and wages for direct-care workers, visit the BLS website, and:

• For Home Health Aides, search for SOC 31-1011
• For Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants, search for SOC 31-1012
• For Personal and Home Care Aides, see SOC 39-9021.