New Study Will Identify Economic Benefit of Workforce Investments

On February 12, 2020 by Jodi Boyne

What’s the Economic Benefit of Workforce Investments? A new LeadingAge study will attempt to answer this question by exploring how increased compensation for direct care workers could favorably impact the national economy, the field of long-term services and supports and individual direct care workers.  

The study, expected to be completed this summer, will focus on three specific areas in which investments in the direct care workforce could have a beneficial impact on:

• The overall economy: Researchers will study the existing minimum wage literature to determine how the national economy is likely to benefit as direct care workers with rising incomes increase their spending.
• The long-term services and support field: Researchers will explore how higher pay and more stable incomes can reduce turnover in our field and how these turnover reductions could lower hiring costs, offer savings to payers, and produce increases in productivity.
• Individual workers: Researchers will explore how workforce investments can reduce the risk of poverty among direct care workers and lessen their dependence on public assistance programs.

The final report will help raise awareness about the economic importance of our workforce among policy makers who are positioned to develop and support federal and state initiatives that could strengthen the direct care workforce.