The economic benefits of early learning are becoming clearer. In Georgia, the industry helps parents earn more than $10 billion and generates billions of dollars in economic activity annually, a report found.

The report’s tally of early learning’s annual economic benefits in the Peach State is impressive: $4.1 billion in economic activity; $117 million worth of federal, state and local tax revenue; support for between $13.6 billion and $32.7 billion in earnings by parents and 61,203 jobs in the industry, according to the report.

“As part of the economic fabric of Georgia, the early care and education industry
may be unparalleled in terms of its support of short- and long-term economic development in the state.” – Economic Impact of the Early Care and Education Industry in Georgia.

Of course, the downside of this economic equation is the low wage many child care workers earn. In Georgia, center-based teachers earn, on average, $10.45 an hour ($21,736 a year, assuming paid vacations and a 40-hour week, which are not always the rules) and other staffers earn $7.94 an hour ($16,515 a year).

Now, you may wonder why I write about so many reports on the economic impacts of early learning, since the numbers may change but the song remains the same.

I continue to highlight this research because as it piles up it become harder to reject the arguments that early learning matters and that teachers and staff should earn higher wages. 

(Thanks to Child Care and Early Education Research Connections for highlighting this report.)

Preschool Works: Check out a new report that shows the success a preschool program in California had getting kids ready for kindergarten.

“…The percentage of children who scored between the In Progress and Proficient levels across all readiness skills (students who were “Combined Proficient”) increased from 22% in the fall to 72% in the spring.” – The Successful Kids in Pre-K Project (SKIPP) Phase II: An Assessment of Los Angeles Universal Preschool Students’ Progression Toward School Readiness.

Check out Early Ed Watch’s view of the report here.