Childcare contributes $2 billion to the local economy, report shows

With its significant job growth and high quality of life, Austin has seen an influx of young families, and that's translated into a $2 billion childcare industry in the area.

A report today released today by United Way Capital Area shows that childcare businesses have an estimated $2 billion effect on the economy of Travis County.

Formal childcare produced gross revenue of $232.9 million in 2006, employing more than 5,400 people, according to the report. The industry also allows others to be successful. Absent childcare, the equivalent of $243 million and 8,000 jobs would be lost locally. When the ripple effects are added in, the impact is about $590 million in earnings and more than 20,000 jobs, or a total of $2 billion.

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"The findings of this report will give our community new ways to explain the importance of investing in early childhood care," says Sue Carpenter, director of Success By 6, the early childhood program of United Way Capital Area that commissioned the report. "We've known for a long time that investing in early childhood education is good for the kids, both now and when they become adults. But thanks to this report, we can now make an economic argument for this investment, too."

The report also explains the less quantifiable effects that childcare has on the Travis County economy, including the ability of employers to attract and retain quality employees, and parents' ability to participate more fully in the labor force.

To read the full report go to:www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org