It's hard work to be able to afford to live, raise a family, and eventually retire in California, especially for workers with low or moderate incomes. While the plight of these workers has never been easy - and workers who are black, Latinx, or women experience some of the greatest economic disadvantages and discrimination in the workplace - research shows that wages and benefits have significantly eroded for many Californians in recent decades. Many workers are being paid little more today than workers were in 1979 even as worker productivity has risen. Fewer employees have access to retirement plans sponsored by their employers, leaving individual workers on their own to stretch limited dollars and resources to plan how they'll spend their later years affording the high cost of living and health care in California. And as union representation has declined, most workers today cannot negotiate collectively for better working conditions, higher pay, and benefits, such as retirement and health care, like their parents and grandparents did. On top of all this, workers who take on contingent and independent work (often referred to as "gig work"), which in many cases appears to be motivated by the need to supplement their primary job or fill gaps in their employment, are rarely granted the same rights and legal protections as traditional employees. In other words, this work arrangement further shifts responsibilities away from businesses, causing workers to shoulder significant risk and, where supports exist, causing the public sector to help fill the gap.

In this report, we look at five key changes in the job market that show that the contract between workers and businesses has shifted such that many Californians can no longer count on their jobs to provide economic security.

The report focuses on the Child Care Development Fund, an $8.2 billion block grant that goes toward offsetting the cost of care for 1.4 million children nationwide. The fund is the primary federal funding source for child care assistance for eligible working parents.

"CCDF is severely underfunded, and as families across the country are struggling to afford care across all income levels, it's dire for low-income families," said Catherine White, director of child care and early learning at the National Women's Law Center.