In a growing field of health care, Sacramento is one of the fastest expanding markets in the country, according to a study released this week.
The capital ranks seventh in the nation among cities seeing the fastest growth of jobs in in-home senior care services. That's according to data released by Care.com, an online marketplace for senior care, child care, home care and pet care services.
The growth was measured by the number of job listings on Care.com, data analyst Joyce Hodel said. By that measure, Sacramento’s in-home care job market had a compound annual growth rate of 28.2 percent from 2011 to 2016.
“Over the last year, growth has been dramatically faster.. there is a big demand for what we do,” said Craig Falk, owner of in-home care provider Craig Cares in Roseville. “We hire an average of four new caregivers every week.”
In-home senior care is a booming industry not just in Sacramento, but nationwide, according to Care.com (NYSE: CRCM). The Waltham, Massachusetts.-based company estimates that 348,000 new jobs will be created in the industry, nationally, by 2024. As an occupation, senior care giver is growing at about five times the rate of any other, Care.com said.
Locally, Falk estimates that the job market in the industry has grown by at least 50 percent in the past year-and-a-half. He employs about 120 caregivers.
The Sacramento market's growth may be outpacing the nation's because seniors are moving here from the Bay Area. Falk said that he's noticed more retirees selling their Bay Area homes and moving to Sacramento for its relatively low cost of living.
He also said that many senior communities in the region are at capacity, requiring their families to turn to in-home care.
“A lot of people may have a tough time moving into one of these communities,” Falk said. “The fact of the matter is they are full, so they stay home.”
Sacramento County — and the Valley in general — also has a growing population of baby boomers. The county’s population aged 60 and over has been growing at a rate of 149 percent since 1990, and that’s expected to continue through 2020, according to a California Department of Aging report.
“That baby-boom generation is coming to the age where they need a little bit extra help,” Care.com's Hodel said. “People who are 65 and older, nine out of 10 tell us that they want to stay in their own home as they age.”
Dean Chalios, president of the trade group California Association of Health Services At Home, said 1,200 baby boomers turn 65 daily in California. Meanwhile, Sacramento is growing and people are living longer. “The industry is growing because the population is growing,” he said.