Devastation. That is only way to describe what is to come for the U.S. job market — thanks to ObamaCare. On Wednesday, the Duke Fuqua School of Business released its quarterly results of a survey of CFOs — the people who control the money in businesses across this country and the world. Following is from Duke’s news release about the devastating impact of ObamaCare on the U.S. economy/job market. 

 

EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.

“The inadequacies of the ACA website have grabbed a lot of attention, even though many of those issues have been or can be fixed,” said John Graham, Duke Fuqua School of Business finance professor and director of the survey. “Our survey points to a more detrimental and potentially long-lasting problem. An unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act will be a reduction in full-time employment growth in the United States. Companies plan to increase full-time employment by 1.4 percent in 2014, a rate of growth which is down from last quarter and unlikely to put a dent in the unemployment rate. CFOs indicate that full-time employment growth would be stronger in the absence of the ACA.”

“I doubt the advocates of this legislation would have foretold the negative impact on employment,” said Campbell R. Harvey, a professor of finance at Fuqua and a founding director of the survey. “The impact on the real economy is startling. Nearly one-third of firms may either terminate employees or hire fewer people in the future as a direct result of ACA.”

In addition, 44 percent of companies say they will consider reducing health benefits to current employees in response to the ACA.

We must repeal this devastation immediately — before our standard of living is irreparably harmed. ObamaCare must be replaced with a consumer-driven menu of insurance options from which consumers can pick and choose what works best for them.