This work examines the status of the care workforce in the health and social work industry in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The analysis shows that despite growing demand for health and elderly care services, the employment growth in this sector lags that of all non-agricultural sectors and is significantly small by international standards. To understand the causes, we explored the labor conditions of care and health workers. We found a highly feminized sector, facing low wages and poor labor conditions. The results highlight the undesirable outcomes of poorly regulated care markets and the need for stressing the societal value of care provision and decent jobs for care workers.