Care.com’s 2016 Holiday Hiring Data & Best Holiday Hacks for Help at Home

01 Dic 2016, 08:52 AM EST

WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#costofholidays–Retailers aren’t the only ones hiring seasonal help during the holidays;
families are hiring holiday help at home for some much-needed seasonal
relief too. Care.com (NYSE: CRCM: www.care.com),
the world’s largest online platform for finding and managing family
care, surveyed families across the country to gauge the costs for
holiday help and the types of support most in demand during the season,
and provided insights into a few holiday hacks for those looking for
help.

CARE.COM 2016 HOURLY HOLIDAY CARE COSTS*

Holiday Help By the Numbers**

Holiday Babysitter: $14.40
Holiday Dog Sitter: $17.45
Holiday Cat Sitter: $17.34
Holiday Party & Event Help: $17.48
Holiday Shopping Help: $16.33
Holiday House Sitter: $18.88
Holiday Housekeeper: $14.98

*Holiday season is November 1, 2016 to January 1, 2017.
**Care.com
2015 National Average Hourly Rates

2016 HOLIDAY HIRING: BEHIND THE SCENES

Childcare

When Do Families Hire A Babysitter For Holiday Parties? The
weekend two weeks before Christmas is the most common weekend of the
year for parents to hire a babysitter
in order to attend a party. That means Saturday, December 10, 2016 will
be the night where babysitters will be most in-demand this holiday
season. Holiday seasonal babysitting jobs are posted an average of 5
days in advance – two days longer than typical babysitting jobs – so
parents should start searching for a babysitter by December 4 at the
latest.

How Much Are Families Paying for a Babysitter? Here’s where
families can save a little money for gifts and entertaining. The cost of
a babysitter during the holiday season is actually less than
during the rest of the year. The national average hourly rate for a
babysitter in December is $14.40 compared to $15.05 for other weekends.
Parents living in San Jose, CA, New York, NY, and Portland, OR aren’t
quite as lucky: they’re the top three most expensive cities to find a
babysitter for a holiday party ($20, $19.64, and $18.69 per hour on
average, respectively).

When to Book a New Year’s Eve Babysitter & How Much to Pay? Our
data shows that New Year’s Eve is the second most popular babysitting
night after Valentine’s Day. Half of New Year’s Eve babysitting jobs are
posted within four days before the holiday so by booking early, families
can avoid scrambling for last-minute quality care.

In 2015, the average hourly rate of a New
Year’s Eve babysitter was $14.34, a 10% increase from 2014. Topping
the most expensive metro for New Year’s Eve babysitters is Portland, OR,
while 3 out of the top 10 metros were located in California (San Jose,
San Francisco, and Los Angeles).

Pet Care

When Do Families Hire a Pet Sitter? During November and December, pet
sitting jobs make up a larger share of pet care jobs than at any
other time of the year. Holiday pet sitting jobs are posted an average
of 17 days in advance (12 days more than for holiday babysitting jobs),
so pet parents should start searching for pet sitters at least three
weeks before they need one. The top three cities with the highest number
of holiday pet sitting jobs per capita are Boulder, CO, Durham, NC, and
Ann Arbor, MI, each of which pay $17.50 or more per hour.

How Much Do Families Pay for Holiday Pet Care? According to
Care.com job postings, 20% of all pet care jobs specifically mention the
holidays as a reason for needing help. From taking care of cats
to brushing an Australian Shepherd before bedtime, families are willing
to pay top dollar for pet care. Holiday pet sitting jobs for dogs
and cats command the highest hourly rates at $17.45 and $17.34,
respectively. Families looking for care of their fish pay an average of
$17.09 per hour, and an average of $16.54 for birds. Although pet
sitting jobs are temporary, lasting an average of 4 days, they pay 10%
more than dog
walking jobs ($18.10 compared to $16.43). During December, pet
sitting jobs last an average of 6 days.

Do Dogs Have New Year’s Resolutions? Either pet parents are
extending their fitness resolutions to their four-legged family members
or they’re avoiding the outdoors in January. January is the top month
for pet care jobs that involve walking, play and exercise, with 56%
asking for play and exercise, compared to 51% for the rest of the year.
The most popular day for dog walking jobs to start is the first Monday
of the New Year and jobs are posted an average of 9 days in advance. As
a result, Care.com predicts many dogs will be kicking off their walks
with a new walker on January 2, 2017, and recommends pet parents post
jobs before December 24 to ensure they find the best help for their
four-legged friend.

2016 HOLIDAY BUDGETS AND TIPPING

Holiday Budgeting
Nearly 1 in 3
people (32%) don’t budget for holiday expenses, and 48% of those who do
say they go over budget. 80% of people who go over budget say they spend
an extra $100 or more. Although 80% say they would
use budget tactics to save money during the holidays, only 49% do so.

Holiday Tipping
81% plan to
spend money on holiday
tipping, compared to 69% in 2015, and nearly 1 in 3 (31%) say they
spend $100 or more on holiday tips. While 60% expect to spend the same
amount on holiday tips this year as last, 24% plan to spend less or not
tip at all, and 17% plan to tip more this year. Of those who plan to tip
more this year, 42% expect to spend $100 or more extra compared to 2015.

Holiday Help
More than half of
people (54%) wish they could hire help during the holiday season to make
it easier, and 59% would be willing to do so if it meant they’d have
less stress and more time. The top 3 types of help that people feel
would make the holidays easier for a family are a housekeeper,
babysitter, and errand
runner/task master. To help save on costs, the top 3 budget tactics
people would use to save money when hiring holiday help are cohosting a
party to save money on entertaining, sharing a babysitter with another
family and splitting the costs, and splitting the costs for a
housekeeper with another family to clean up post-event.

About the Care.com 2016 Holiday Data
Care.com
data, such as hourly rates and advance booking averages, are based on
2015 member behavior on the site. The Care.com 2016 Cost of Holidays
Survey captured responses, which were recruited from Care.com, from
nearly 1,200 people in the United States during the months of September
and October 2016.

For more data
or to learn helpful holiday tips, visit Care.com/holidaytipping.

About Care.com
Since launching
in 2007, Care.com (NYSE: CRCM) has been committed to solving the complex
care challenges that impact families, caregivers, employers, and care
service companies. Today, Care.com is the world’s largest online
destination for finding and managing family care, with 12.4 million
families and 9.6 million caregivers* across 19 countries, including the
U.S., UK, Canada and parts of Western Europe, and approximately 1.1
million employees of corporate clients having access to our services.
Spanning child care to senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more,
Care.com provides a sweeping array of services for families and
caregivers to find, manage and pay for care or find employment. These
include: a comprehensive suite of safety tools and resources members may
use to help make more informed hiring decisions – such as third-party
background check services, monitored messaging, and tips on hiring best
practices; easy ways for caregivers to be paid online or via mobile app;
and Care.com Benefits, including the household payroll and tax services
provided by Care.com HomePay and the Benefit Bucks program, a
peer-to-peer pooled, portable benefits platform funded by household
employer contributions which provides caregivers access to professional
benefits. For enterprise clients, Care.com builds customized benefits
packages covering child care, back up care and senior care consulting
services through its Care@Work business, and serves care businesses with
marketing and recruiting support. To connect families further, Care.com
acquired community platforms Big Tent and Kinsights in 2013 and 2015,
respectively. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Care.com has
offices in Berlin, Austin, New York City and the San Francisco Bay area.