Today marks the launch of the President’s health insurance law, commonly referred to as ObamaCare. As the law takes effect, a new report by the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute examines how the law might be affecting labor hours here in the president’s home state.
Under ObamaCare, businesses with more than 50 full-time employees might be subject to significant fines and penalties for not offering “qualified” health insurance. The government has defined “full-time” as any employees who work an average of more than 30 hours per week.

The Illinois Policy Institute analyzed labor data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, and found that workers in the food service, general merchandise and retail sectors have seen a drop in the average number of hours worked to below 30 hours per week – likely so their employers can avoid the expensive penalties of the health law’s statutes. The food service, general merchandise and retail sectors account for about one-fifth of the state’s total employment, and are the lowest-wage sectors. The drop in average hours worked is the equivalent of 66,000 lost jobs statewide since 2011.

“As ObamaCare is implemented, Americans are seeing it fail on the important goals of health care access and affordability,” said Naomi Lopez-Bauman, director of health policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and author of the report. “But this labor data shows that not only will ObamaCare fail to deliver its health insurance goals, it also threatens to cause further damage to Illinois’ already-fragile economy. Advocates of ObamaCare should be prepared to answer the question: How many lost jobs and lost hours are too many?”

Here are some highlights from the report:

• The food service, general merchandise and retail sectors account for 20 percent of Illinois’ total employment.
• The food service, general merchandise and retail sectors are the lowest-wage sectors in Illinois.
• FOOD SERVICE: In the food service sector in Illinois, the average number of hours worked in 2011 was 31.5 hours per week. In 2013, the average number of hours worked has dropped to 29.7. The number of lost hours in the retail sector is the labor equivalent of 10,000 jobs lost.
• GENERAL MERCHANDISE: In the general merchandise sector in Illinois, the average number of hours worked in 2011 was 31.5 hours per week. In 2013, the average number of hours has dropped to 27.8. The number of lost hours in the general merchandise sector is the labor equivalent to 20,000 jobs lost.
• RETAIL: In the retail sector in Illinois, the average number of hours worked in 2011 was 30.7 hours per week. In 2013, the average number of hours worked has dropped to 29.1. The number of lost hours in the retail sector is the labor equivalent of 36,000 jobs lost.
• Since 2011, Illinois has lost the equivalent of about 66,000 jobs in these three sectors through reduced work hours – more than the number of jobs added in all sectors over the past year.

The report is available online at: http://illinoispolicy.org/simplereport/part-time-illinois-work-hours-have-dropped-since-obamacare-signed-into-law/