Why do caregivers get paid so little?

Caregiving jobs, specifically caregiving jobs in home health care, often don't experience high pay rates. These roles are undervalued because they are viewed as low-skill and also low in terms of demand. The result of this tends to be low wages or salaries for workers in this field.

• Funding issues

Many caregiver roles are funded by government programs, Medicaid is one prime example. Medicaid tends to be underfunded, resulting in lower wages for caregivers that rely on funding from that government program. Most programs in this field tend to experience funding problems, and this directly affects how much caregivers can earn.

• Turnover rate

There is a high turnover rate in the field of caregiving, resulting in employers being less willing to invest in caregivers' training and compensation. Employers are reluctant because they are worried they will lose their investment if an employee chooses to leave.

• Caregivers don't have a union

Unions are strong organizations composed of individuals that work in the same field who then use their collective bargaining power to fight for issues like higher wages, paid time off, sick leave, and other critical employee benefits.

Caregivers do not have a union, making it difficult for them to act as a collective body with the power to negotiate better pay and employee benefits.