According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly small-business outlook survey, half of small businesses affected by the new health-care law plan to either cut hours or reduce full-time workers to part-time status in order to dodge Obamacare requirements. Another 24 percent said they will reduce staff to under 50 employees to avoid paying penalties for failing to offer health insurance.
Although several of the big programs have been postponed, Obamacare is still a top concern for many businesses, mainly because it will increase health care costs at their companies. In addition, only 20 percent of business owners said they plan to hire more workers over the next two years. When surveyed about the U.S. economy, businesses responded with pessimism. Only a quarter said they saw signs of improvement over the past two years. However, one piece of good news that came from the survey is that 81 percent voiced that they would like to see the immigration system reformed.
For more detailed results of the survey, please visit Entrepreneur.com.