The Personal Assistance Workforce: Trends in Supply and Demand
Journal ArticleExpanding Access & Cultural Competence
July 1, 2006
This article describes the personal assistance workforce from 1989 -2004 in terms of workforce trends, Medicaid spending, growth vis-à-vis demand for workers, and job characteristics, like pay, tenure, and benefits. To view the original source, click here.
Key Takeaways
There was an increasing upward trend of personal assistance workers from 1989-2004. The workforce tripled during this time.
Wages for personal assistance workers grew slower than comparative wages of nursing home aides from 1989-2004. Benefits-wise, only 29.4% of personal assistance workers had employer-based health insurance.
Medicaid spending on home and community based services more than tripled from 1989-2004; the number of people needing activities of daily living help in the community increased from 2.6 million in 1989 to 4.1 million in 2004 (54.2% increase).
