Some companies curbed hiring after Obamacare: Fed survey

About 14 percent of service firms in the metropolitan region and factories across New York State said they had curbed hiring of full-time employees due to Obamacare, according to a poll released Tuesday by the state's most prominent bank.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said "the most common adjustments" by businesses after the Affordable Care Act began to be implemented last year were to hire fewer full-time workers and more part-timers or contract employees.

More than 70 percent of the companies polled by the Fed said they made no changes in the size of their workforce or the hours worked by employees because of the health care law.

The bank polled about 100 plants in the state and about 100 service businesses in the metro area earlier this month. The sample of service companies included retailers and technology firms.

Before Obamacare's implementation, critics predicted it would lead employers to trim full-time payrolls to avoid the law's requirements or limit its cost to companies. The Fed didn't ask about job cuts related to the health care law.

Critics also forecast an increase in the use of part-time and contract workers -- for whom employers aren't generally required to provide medical benefits.

In the Fed survey, about 7 percent of plants said they had used more contract workers, while only 1 percent of service firms did.

The hiring of part-time workers rose 5 percent at factories and 13 percent at service companies.

Another method of reducing the Affordable Care Act's effect was to cut employees' work hours. However, only a few did so: 1 percent of plants and 6 percent of service firms.

Five percent of factories and 3 percent of service businesses said they were unaffected by the health care law.