While just about every provider in the home care space has struggled with turnover, lower wages are tied to higher turnover rates, a new report confirms.
The median caregiver turnover rate across the industry was 66.7% in 2017, the highest rate since 2013, according to the 9th Annual Edition of the Home Care Benchmarking Study by Home Care Pulse. Turnover rates include the percent of caregivers who quit or were terminated.
The study results were compiled from responses from 730 total providers with 1,309 locations represented; the majority of participants were franchise owners.
The majority of caregivers—57%—who quit did so within the first three months of employment. About one-fourth of caregivers quit in the four- to six-month range, while only 11% and 5% quit in month seven to nine and 10 to 12, respectively.
In 2017, caregiver pay ranged from $150 to $174 per 24-hour shift, a range that has remained consistent over the last three years. For companion/homemakers services, pay ranged from $10.50 per hour to $10.99 in 2017, a slight jump from the previous two years.
Pay for a personal care attendant ranged from $11 per hour to $11.49, while certified nursing assistants (CNAs) had the highest hourly pay, ranging from $11.50 to $11.99 in 2017.
Providers with lower turnover rates tended to value caregivers more, according to the report.
Providers that paid above the 90th percentile of industry wages had the lowest turnover rate in 2017, at 38.1%. From there, turnover rates spiked last year.
Caregivers paid above the 75th percentile had 59.5% turnover; caregivers paid below the 25th percentile had 70.6% turnover rate; and caregivers paid below the 10th percentile had a turnover rate of 80.2%.
Written by Amy Baxter
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