Child care – as well as fostering child development – helps families participate in the labor market and become economically secure. However, many working families across the U.S. do not have adequate child care; millions of parents of young children struggle to find child care that helps them work at the jobs they need. This problem is longstanding but the pandemic has made it worse. This Report examines the economic consequences of this child care deficit for the U.S. economy. Applying an economic model with data from a new nationwide survey of 806 working parents with children 0-3, this Report calculates the financial burden of inadequate child care for parents, for businesses, and for the taxpayer.  (author abstract)