The sound of one hand clapping. We're apparently headed into a wave of hiring of home care workers, according to a new Senior Helpers study. Yay, I guess, for the job 'opportunities' for 100,000 additional in-home senior care workers in 2011. It's a good thing that the article offered up an observation by one franchise owner who "said many of the caregivers employed were middle-aged women who were in the job because they wanted to help, rather than for the money." Yes, of course. They can't be in it for the money. Note the Bureau of Labor Statistics about the fastest growing job occupations. Note the only one with an annual average wage below $20K -- yup, that's the personal care worker, one of the few on the list with only 'on-the-job training'. One in three have no health insurance, which for a single individual (healthy) under the age of 65 requires an average premium cost of nearly $3000. And sure enough, the industry is lobbying to be exempt from requirements to insure their workers, also admitting that for those who are currently insured, that the coverage “is probably not up to what will be required.”
