The delay of the health care law mandate until 2015 could spark hiring by small business owners who had otherwise decided to put off hiring to avoid costs associated with the mandate. It could also mean that employers give employees more hours now that they don’t have to offer healthcare for another year. While this is seemingly good news, experts disagree on just how significant of a boost this will be for the job market. The latest jobs reports show that 195,000 jobs were added last month but the number of people working part-time who would prefer to work full-time jumped by 322,000 – a sign that some firms may have cut employees’ hours to avoid having to provide health insurance. The Affordable Care Act mandates that any business with at least 50 full-time workers must offer health insurance to those who work a minimum of 30 hours a week or pay a $2,000-per-worker penalty. Due to this looming mandate, some firms with 40-45 employees held off hiring to avoid the 50-employee threshold. Others have cut hours back for those who typically work more than 30 hours a week. “It’s a temporary reprieve,” says Neil Trautwein, vice president of the National Retail Federation. “Hopefully, this will keep more money in people’s pockets for a longer period.” All in all, reports show that the job market could see a small yet positive effect from the health care mandate’s delay. For more info, click here
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