Analysis finds wages for PCAs remain low

A recent analysis by an advocacy group for direct care workers finds that wages for personal care aides (PCAs) nationwide continue to be low.

The Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute's (PHI) annual wage trend analysis for PCAs found that in 2011, the national median hourly wage for PCAs was $9.49, an increase of less than one percent from 2010.

In comparison, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, the average national wage for all occupations is $21.74. The national average wage for all occupations in the personal care and service occupations category, which includes PCAs, is $11.84.

PHI’s analysis notes that over the decade, 2001 to 2011, national median wages for PCAs increased by 22 percent, or an average of 2.2 percent per year, but when those wages are adjusted for inflation, they actually decreased by more than 4 percent.

“This is an alarming trend because the buying power of these dollars (is) worth less and less for these aides,” said Abby Marquand, a policy research associate at PHI. “We think it’s an important point to make because even if it looks like the wages are staying the same over this time period – over the past 10 years – when you adjust for inflation, they’re not.”

Last spring, the BLS estimated that the personal care aides occupation is one of the country’s fastest growing occupations. The BLS projects nearly 71 percent growth by 2020.

[See also: Explosion of direct-care workforce will cause industry change.]

PHI noted in its State Chart Book on Wages for Personal Care Aides that 33 states reported average hourly wages for PCAs were below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

Marquand said that while PHI did not analyze the reasons for the low rates of pay for PCAs, she said cuts to provider reimbursements and tight state budgets trickle down to impact PCA wages.

The pressure is on employers of PCAs, she said. Employers need to realize that paying PCAs a higher wage will neutralize or best the money spent on wages in the long run because higher wages will translate into less turn over and better quality of care for their customers.

“Do we want to pay these people a living wage or do we want to pay on the back end by supporting them with public assistance?” she asked. “We’re paying one way or another.”