Cost of childcare rises three times faster than wages, study finds

Working parents with children under five have seen nursery fees rise three times faster than their wages over the past decade, a study has found. Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) shows that weekly childcare costs have increased by 52 per cent since 2008 for families with a full-time and a part-time working parent. Over the same period wages have gone up by just 17 per cent. The study, conducted by Landman Economics based on childcare costs data provided by Coram Family and Childcare, found that the rate of rises is even faster for lone parents, with childcare costs for a single parent who works full-time rising seven times faster than earnings. Fees in England are now on average £236 a week for a child under two in nursery, compared with £159 in 2008 and £232 a week for a child over two in nursery, compared with £149 in 2008. The rate that childcare costs have outstripped wage rises for families with one full-time and one part-time working parent is greatest in the West Midlands (8.7 times faster), followed by the South East (4.5) and the North East (4.8). Read more.