DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) – Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, access to childcare still plays a role in some parents’ ability to return to work. John Quinterno, a public policy professor at Duke University, said according to the U.S. jobs report released Friday, approximately 418,000 people in the U.S. said they want to work, but aren’t looking for a job because of issues related to childcare. Basloe said the pandemic really brought childcare issues to the forefront by showing how important it was in allowing essential workers to go to work during the pandemic when the rest of the state was mostly shut down.