New Employment Data Show Little Evidence of ACA Affecting Hiring
Many critics of the Affordable Care Act have warned that the law's employee health benefits requirements would force employers to hire more part-time workers or reduce work hours for current full-time workers, but new data released Monday offer little evidence of those claims, Reuters reports.
According to a recent survey by the National Association for Business Economics, one in five service-sector employers said they believe the ACA has stifled employment at their firms over the previous three months, in part because of the law's employer mandate. Many of the respondents also indicated that they are waiting to fill open positions because of expected costs under the law. In addition, 15% of the service-sector businesses polled said they plan to hire more part-time workers.
Despite the NABE report, actual labor figures suggest those concerns "may not be translating into hiring decisions," according to Reuters.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' September employment summary report indicates minimal impact from the ACA on the national jobs market and part-time hiring trends, Reuters reports. In September, the number of people working in part-time jobs who want to work in full-time jobs stood at about 7.9 million, which was virtually unchanged from reports for the prior months (Lange, Reuters, 10/22).
According to the New York Times' "Economix", the September figure actually decreased from 8.6 million in the September 2012 BLS employment summary report. The decline reflects the drop in the overall unemployment rate, an improving economy and, in part, more workers leaving the labor force, "Economix" reports (Lowrey, "Economix," New York Times, 10/22).
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