A new report argues that Obamacare so far has not been the job killer its opponents have made it out to be.
An analysis of 2014 job data conducted by the left-leaning think tank Urban Institute found that Obamacare had little, if any, effect on the job market. The healthcare law’s impact on employment, especially Obamacare’s employer mandate, has been a constant point of contention among supporters and opponents.
Opponents have charged that the mandate, which requires employers to provide health insurance, will lead to job cuts and reduced hours.
But the preliminary results don’t bear that out, said the report, funded by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Last year, part-time employment of non-elderly adults with a high school education or less was higher than expected, but only by .5 percentage point, the report said. The researchers said the increase could reflect the continuing economic recovery.
The difference between what was expected and what occurred was so small that the report concluded there was no evidence of an impact from Obamacare.
The findings appear to contradict estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that predicted Obamacare would reduce the total number of hours worked by about 1.5 percent over the next couple of years.
The report also found that employment in 2014 for adults with a high school education was 1.8 percent higher than expected. “This finding is inconsistent with predictions that the [Affordable Care Act] would decrease employment,” the report said.
Urban Institute culled its data from the Current Population Survey, which is the federal government’s main source of information on labor and employment.
While the report offers good news for supporters, the law’s employer mandate isn’t expected to kick in for small businesses until next year.
The employer mandate requires a company provide health insurance for up to 95 percent of employees who work 30 hours or more.
The mandate went into effect this year for companies with 100 or more employees to cover 70 percent in 2015 and then 95 percent in 2016. The mandate will do the same for companies with 50 or more employees next year.
