In today's world, parenting often comes with a hefty price tag and new data published by Pregnant Then Screwed sheds light on the challenging reality facing parents in the UK.

The report reveals 'The £50k parent penalty,' highlighting that one in five parents in households earning less than £50,000 annually are leaving the workforce due to the crippling cost of childcare. This alarming trend is a stark reminder of the urgent need for reform in the UK's childcare system.

The survey conducted by Pregnant Then Screwed polled 11,811 parents with children under the age of five, providing valuable insights into the state of childcare in the UK and its profound impact on careers and families.

A staggering 61% of parents shared that they or their partners have had to reduce their working hours due to the rising childcare costs or limited availability. This percentage jumps even higher to 67% for Asian parents and a concerning 75% for parents of disabled children. However, the hardest-hit demographic is families with a household income of less than £50,000, with a staggering 76.6% having to cut down on work hours to make childcare arrangements work.

Nearly half of the parents (48%) surveyed reported that they are unable to access the childcare they need, with a staggering 77% citing cost as the primary obstacle. Additionally, 47% expressed difficulties in finding suitable or available childcare options. These challenges in accessing affordable childcare are pushing many parents to make painful decisions about their careers and family life.

The UK is notorious for having one of the most expensive childcare systems globally and these costs continue to rise. Shockingly, 41% of parents reported fee increases of between 5-10%, while an additional 14% experienced even higher increases of over 10% within the last 10 months. These rising costs are driving parents to prioritise childcare expenses over other essential aspects of daily life.

Pregnant Then Screwed also inquired about the broader implications of rising childcare costs. More than half of the parents who experienced these rising costs stated that childcare expenses and availability have become "more of a concern than the cost of living" itself. This revelation underscores the severe strain that childcare expenses are placing on families across the country.

Perhaps most concerning is the fact that 42% of parents revealed that the cost and availability of childcare have prevented them from having more children. This not only affects individual families but also has wider implications for the future population and workforce of the UK.

Joeli Brearly – Founder and CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed stated:

“When household income drops below £50k our data shows that you are statistically more likely to leave the workforce or reduce your hours. This further entrenches poverty and inequality. Our crumbling childcare sector continues to push new families into debt and onto benefits – work does not pay when you have a young child. We currently have the lowest birth rate in the last 20 years in Britain, and yet we are making it harder and harder for families to afford to have children.”

Desperate to bridge the childcare gap, nearly a third of parents (29%) have turned to family and friends for support. However, this is not a sustainable solution for everyone. Alarmingly, 22.3% of parents admitted to cutting back on essential items like food, heating, or clothing to make ends meet. This number increases significantly to 47.6% for single parents and 35% for parents of deaf, disabled, neurodivergent children, or children with serious illnesses. Furthermore, 26.1% of parents have resorted to using credit cards, borrowing money, or accumulating debt to afford increasing childcare costs.

The '£50k parent penalty' is a stark reminder of the profound challenges parents in the UK face when it comes to childcare costs and availability. These issues are not only impacting families' financial well-being but also their career opportunities and choices about family size.

Research from Robert Walters - Global Specialist Professional Recruitment Consultancy - has shown that November vacancies were the lowest seen since May, a drop of 9 per cent.

At the start of 2021, there had been a rise of 6 per cent in professional vacancies – an average of 32,377 new vacancies a month but after the announcement that the HS2 Northern Powerhouse Rail was to be downgraded, the decline in vacancies was 14 per cent.

Chris Poole - Managing Director of Robert Walters - said:

“It is not surprising to hear that hiring slowed somewhat in November – where following the reopening of many sectors post lockdown, businesses made immediate staffing assessments based on people leaving or not returning, which in-turn led to a short-term spike in hiring that was always going to be temporary. The emergence of a new variant has yet again left members of parliament sitting on either side of the lockdown argument – creating a lingering air of uncertainty across businesses, particularly within the retail, leisure and hospitality space. Nonetheless, the UK is better placed to oversee COVID over winter than other European countries – in part due to an early lift of lockdown measures, backed by the vaccine and booster programme roll-out. This means that while in other countries we may well see a complete recruitment freeze take place in certain areas, this is unlikely to happen in the UK.”

The month in 2021 with the record number of vacancies was June, which had nearly three times the number compared with June 2020 - and over 60 per cent more than when compared to June 2019.

London has consistently maintained slightly over 40 per cent of the national vacancies, with the south of England - despite being the largest region - having seen the national share of professional vacancies slip from 28 percent in 2019 to 26 percent so far this year.

The Midlands and the north of England, however, has seen its share of professional vacancies go up from 9.9 per cent to 10.4 per cent in the Midlands and in the north of England 15.2 per cent to 16.5 per cent.

Vacancies within the accounting sector have reverted to 2019 levels; however, the increase this year has been primarily from outside the ‘Big 4’ accounting firms. In 2019 approximately 77 per cent of all accountancy vacancies come from the ‘Big 4’, whereas in 2021 to date, this has dropped to 69 per cent.

The legal sector has had a record year with hiring surpassing 2019 levels by over 23 per cent. Within London, lawyers have been particularly in demand - accounting for a quarter of all legal vacancies. This has been consistent for the last three years.