The Present and Future of the Care Economy

The care economy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the United States — and one of the most troubled. Workforce shortages, high turnover, and poor job quality persist not because care work is inherently low-value, but because of how the sector is organized: who bears the cost of training, how wages are set, what employers recognize as their responsibility, and how public investment is structured.

This panel brings together voices from research, policy, and practice to examine where the care economy stands today, and what it would take to make it work better for workers, families, businesses, and the broader economy. The conversation will focus on how good jobs in care can be designed, and on the care economy as a double engine: generating employment directly while enabling employment across every other sector.