More US Parents Leave Work as Child Care Costs Outpace Inflation, BofA Reports

A young boy plays with toys at a preschool in this file photo. Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesRising costs for child care—up 5.2 percent year over year in September—have some parents leaving the workforce or cutting back on hours to take care of their children, a new report from the Bank of America (BofA) Institute found.The report, published on Oct. 28, said child care costs outpaced inflation by 1.5 percent in September. As a result, the year-over-year growth in households making child care payments slowed, down 1.6 percentage points from September 2024.