Childcare fees for working parents have risen three times faster than wages in the past decade, according to the TUC.
Costs have gone up by 52% per week since 2008 for families with a full-time and a part-time working parent, despite government initiatives. The earnings of these parents have increased by 17%. In the last year alone, childcare costs have risen by 7%.
Lone parents were faring worse, the TUC analysis found, with childcare costs for a single mother or father working full-time having risen seven times faster than earnings.
Childcare in England costs an average of £236 a week for a child under the age of two in nursery, compared with £159 in 2008. The cost is £232 a week for a child over two, compared with £149 10 years ago.
The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “Working parents have seen childcare fees rocket, as their wages have stagnated. Despite government support, families still face eye-watering nursery bills. Britain’s cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on working mums and dads.”
Examples of bills included £4,700 a year paid by a family on average earnings, with one parent working full-time and another part-time, for a three-year-old and a one-year-old child. A single parent on average earnings, working full-time, was paying just over £6,000 for the same coverage.
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