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Surprise: Obamacare-wary employers not hiring, cutting hours
Hotair ^ | 01/03/2013 | Guy Benson

Posted on 01/03/2013 12:15:14 PM PST by SeekAndFind

The real knife twist in this USA Today piece is the money quote from Mark Zandi, The One’s go-to "independent" economist:

Many businesses plan to bring on more part-time workers next year, trim the hours of full-time employees or curtail hiring because of the new health care law, human resource firms say. Their actions could further dampen job growth, which already is threatened by possible federal budget cutbacks resulting from the tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. "It will have a negative impact on job creation" in 2013, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics…The so-called employer mandate to offer health coverage doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, 2014. But to determine whether employees work enough hours on average to receive benefits, employers must track their schedules for three to 12 months prior to 2014 — meaning many are restructuring payrolls now or will do so early next year.

How widespread will the fallout be? Very:

About a quarter of businesses surveyed by consulting firm Mercer don’t offer health coverage to employees who work at least 30 hours a week. Half of them plan to make changes so fewer employees work that many hours. The health care law will particularly affect companies with 40 to 45 workers that plan to expand and hire. Many are holding off so they don’t cross the 50-employee threshold, says Christine Ippolito, principal at Compass Workforce Solutions, a human resource consulting firm in Melville, N.Y. Ernie Canadeo, president of EGC Group, a Melville-based advertising and marketing agency with 45 employees, planned to add 10 next year but now says he may add fewer so he’s not subject to the mandate…Others already over the 50-employee threshold plan to add more part-time workers or cut the hours of full-timers, says Rob Wilson, head of Employco, a human resource outsourcing firm. Many, he says, will hire more temporary workers, whom they won’t have to cover.

Nearly half of retailers, restaurants and hotels will be affected by the law, according to Mercer. They employ large numbers of part-time and seasonal employees, including many who work about 30 hours a week. Since such low-wage workers are widely available, it often hasn’t been cost-effective or necessary for employers to offer them coverage. Providing them benefits could be costly because employees must pay no more than 9.5% of their wages in insurance premiums, forcing employers to contribute significantly more than they do for higher-wage workers. ”I think you may see employees with fewer hours as a consequence,” says Neil Trautwein, vice president of the National Retail Federation.

So the law sets an arbitrary cap on the percentage of wages workers are permitted to contribute to their health benefits — the initial intent of which, presumably, was to compel employers to shell out to help cover more employees. But instead of complying with the mandate and spending money they either (a) don’t have or (b) need for other purposes, cash-strapped small business owners are planning to shave hours and provide less work for their employees. That’s not greed; it’s business reality in a stagnant economy. The clumsy and meddlesome heavy hand of Big Government strikes again, hurting many of very the people it set out to “help.” None of this should surprise anyone, of course. Obamacare opponents have long argued that this project would spike spending and debt, deprive Americans of liberty, and destroy jobs. These predictions are being vindicated with each passing day, hence the law’s enduring unpopularity. And as the article notes, many of the most onerous mandates don’t cycle in until 2014, so the pain is just beginning. For what it’s worth, the CBO has estimated that the president’s signature legislative accomplishment will kill 800,000 jobs.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: hiring; jobs; obamacare; unemployment
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1 posted on 01/03/2013 12:15:30 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Just another way for 0bama to asphyxiate the private sector.. Forcing small businesses OUT of business. Soon the only job will be as a SLAVE to the government.


2 posted on 01/03/2013 12:22:14 PM PST by Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America (IMPEACH OBAMA)
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To: SeekAndFind
Funny... the media today is reporting all time record Christmas sales growth... car companies returning to major profit... 215,000 new jobs created in December... skittles and unicorns are flying out bammy’s butt. I am so sick of the lies... wtf can we do to make these liars pay a price and stop with the Goebbels’s styled NAZISM? I am sick of Rush and others lamenting and preaching... I WANT A DAMNED PLAN FOR VICTORY. I do not mind fighting but we need LEADERSHIP!

LLS

3 posted on 01/03/2013 12:23:27 PM PST by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I am not a business owner, but I would assume excess cash is a trade off. One can hire more workers to get the job done, or one can invest in the productivity of current workers. With the cost of new workers now rising rapidly, I would think an employer would rather use their money to train CURRENT employees to make them more productive, and forgo adding to their staff levels.


4 posted on 01/03/2013 12:28:41 PM PST by Sam Gamgee (May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't. - Patton)
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To: SeekAndFind

The only people surprised by this are the people who wrote and passed the bill. :(


5 posted on 01/03/2013 12:34:11 PM PST by Tzimisce (The American Revolution began when the British attempted to disarm the Colonists.)
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To: SeekAndFind

There is almost ZERO hiring...
reason number 1: Obamacare taxes and regulatory compliance costs
reason number 2: Obama’s new higher taxes just shoved down the throats of small businesses
reason number 3: many employers are also “psyched out” by all the anti-business rhetoric and “abuse” coming from Obama and his apparatchniks

expect more of same downwards-spiral for next 4 years.
the public voted for this depression/great recession type of economy so.... it appears we just have to get used to it


6 posted on 01/03/2013 12:35:44 PM PST by faithhopecharity
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To: SeekAndFind

I appreciate their desire to Go Galt, but in the end this will fail.

The reason is we just don’t have enough people willing to drag their arse out of bed and go take a 20 hour per week near-minimum wage job when they can scam unemployment, welfare or SSI. (this was likely the very reason Obama dropped the work requirement for welfare).

Store up the road from me planned to hire 100 people and cut everyone’s hours. They were actually able to hire 17 who were willing to take the job (and I understand some of those have already moved on)


7 posted on 01/03/2013 12:42:23 PM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: SeekAndFind

But look on the bright side. Hiring more part time workers will show a decrease in the unemployment numbers.

/s


8 posted on 01/03/2013 12:53:27 PM PST by bgill (We've passed the point of no return. Welcome to Al Amerika.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ve observed a few retailers cutting full time employees down to 20 hour weeks and hiring new part time employees.


9 posted on 01/03/2013 1:04:33 PM PST by pallis
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To: SeekAndFind

“My fellow Americans... it is now clear that rich private business wishes to devastate the middle class by lay-offs and decreased work hours. I have therefore signed an executive order nationalizing such companies as we feel are guilty of such tactics in order to protect the middle class and the poor...”


10 posted on 01/03/2013 1:10:41 PM PST by pabianice (washington, dc ..)
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To: pabianice

Directive 10-289.


11 posted on 01/03/2013 1:26:04 PM PST by Truth29
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To: SeekAndFind

What!? Increased taxes and regulation actually hurts the economy? Say it aint so!


12 posted on 01/03/2013 1:27:35 PM PST by vpintheak (Occupy your Brain!)
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To: SeekAndFind

bflr


13 posted on 01/03/2013 1:31:46 PM PST by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will, they ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
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To: Sam Gamgee

“One can hire more workers to get the job done, or one can invest in the productivity of current workers.”

In many companies that have laid people off, they simply use “Plan C”: Force the remaining employees to do their own work, plus that of their laid-off co-workers, in order to keep their jobs. Over a year ago the Wall Street Journal highlighted the problems faced by those who survived layoffs; this was a big issue. People who used to work 9-5 are now working 9-7 (for the same pay).


14 posted on 01/03/2013 1:52:02 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

“The reason is we just don’t have enough people willing to drag their arse out of bed and go take a 20 hour per week near-minimum wage job when they can scam unemployment, welfare or SSI. (this was likely the very reason Obama dropped the work requirement for welfare).”

The nanny-state provides more than a 20 hour-per-week minimum-wage job; that is why immigrants (legal and otherwise) are imported to do them. Dropping the work requirement for welfare, while certainly a goal of President Foodstamps, was probably just acknoledging that you can’t force people to look for work that simply isn’t there.

Americans are slow to realize that “the new normal” is here to stay; unless you have some specific skills that are in demand, you will work for minimal sustenance (or not work at all). As companies figure out how to replace those workers with specific skills that are in demand (either importing Asian coolies to do it, or sending the work to Asia), those skilled workers will also fall off the map. This already happened with tech and finance, and will continue to spread.


15 posted on 01/03/2013 2:00:11 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: LibLieSlayer
there NOT hiring nurses in Portland Oregon.....

my dtr's work has seen lots of layoffs, so has my sil's and so has my dil's...

I didn't see lots of presents bought this year...simple things....

just because they are the STATE CONTROLLED MEDIA doesn't mean they are truthful....

16 posted on 01/03/2013 2:26:05 PM PST by cherry
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To: Buckeye McFrog
would you take a 20 hr job at minimum wage?...pay all your mortgage costs, your car loans, your health care premiums, and your college costs and your food, water, utility bills?.....

you might as well go on unemployment....at least you can stay home with the kids....

work is not valued anymore....its not a "reward" onto itself....infact,20 hrs at minimum wage is a punishment....(unless you are a kid or college age and just want that much work...otherwise, working families can not live on that)

17 posted on 01/03/2013 2:30:14 PM PST by cherry
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To: SeekAndFind

Wait a minute. Is the article implying that central planning doesn’t work?


18 posted on 01/03/2013 2:42:18 PM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America

Welcome to Ford, where everyone belongs to everyone. Henry Ford’s in his flivver. All’s right with the world. Here have your daily dose.


19 posted on 01/03/2013 3:16:24 PM PST by Eleutheria5 (End the occupation. Annex today.)
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To: kearnyirish2

I’m not surprised and good point.


20 posted on 01/03/2013 3:21:14 PM PST by Sam Gamgee (May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't. - Patton)
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