Obamacare is forcing hundreds of thousands of people into part-time work, according to a new analysis from the bank Goldman Sachs.
In a research note sent out Wednesday, bank economist Alec Phillips concluded that “the evidence suggests that the [Affordable Care Act] has at least modestly elevated involuntary part-time employment.” He wrote that a “few hundred thousand” workers may have had their hours cut or been forced to take part-time jobs because of the law.
Goldman Sachs’ analysis is the latest conduct on the contentious topic of the healthcare law and part-time work, and its findings largely back up what other studies have revealed, Phillips wrote. The bank weighed in on the question after involuntary part-time work rose sharply in recent months.
Obamacare is thought to incentivize part-time work through several means. One is that employers with more than 50 full-time workers face penalties if they do not provide health insurance coverage, giving them a reason to cut hours or avoid hiring new workers if they are near the 50 employee level.
Goldman Sachs reviewed the industries with the most workers without health care coverage working for firms with at least 50 employees, such as bars, restaurants, and retail stores.
Those industries, the analysis found, have higher numbers of workers working part-time involuntarily.
In other sectors with greater health care coverage, the relationship wasn’t as strong.
As a share of the total 6.4 million people forced into part-time work, a few hundred thousand is not that many, Phillips noted. But that number could help explain why involuntary part-time work is still as elevated as it is this late in the jobs recovery.
To read the full article from the Washington Examiner, please click here.
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