Skip to content

3.2 Million Jobs at Risk: Another Painful Side Effect of ObamaCare

March 22, 2013

While the White House is celebrating the third anniversary of their health care law, the jobs of millions of American workers across the country are at risk because of ObamaCare.  According to a state-by-state breakdown of data from a Hudson Institute study, ObamaCare’s employer mandate jeopardizes the jobs of up to 3.2 million full-time employees in the franchise industry.  The data, released today by the International Franchise Association (IFA), reveals that the potential for job loss is especially high in the hospitality, restaurant and leisure industries – the same industries where many secure entry-level jobs and learn skills that allow them to move to higher-skilled work.  With over one-third of franchise employees in every state at risk, over 300,000 in California, almost 200,000 jobs in Florida and over 110,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, no one is safe from the pain of job loss under ObamaCare.

Highlights from testimony summarizing the study’s findings:

  • This [employer mandate] penalty raises significantly the cost of employing full-time workers, especially low- skill workers, because the penalty is a higher proportion of their compensation than for high-skill workers, and employers cannot take the penalty out of employee compensation packages.
  • Industries that have traditionally offered the greatest opportunities to entry-level workers – leisure and hospitality, restaurant – will be particularly hard-hit by the new law.  The franchise industry has offered an entry point to low-skill workers, who have some of the highest unemployment rates in America.
  • In addition to hiring more part-time workers, firms will have an added incentive to become more automated, or machinery-intensive and  employ fewer workers.

State

Employed In
Franchised Businesses

Potential Jobs At Risk Due to ACA

California

925,700

324,604

Texas

727,500

255,104

Florida

563,400

197,561

Illinois

412,800

144,752

Ohio

382,000

133,951

New York

349,600

122,590

Georgia

338,400

118,663

Pennsylvania

318,600

111,720

North Carolina

296,100

103,830

Virginia

287,000

100,639

Michigan

260,600

91,381

Tennessee

223,900

78,512

Missouri

220,700

77,390

Indiana

216,000

75,742

New Jersey

215,400

75,532

Arizona

192,700

67,572

Minnesota

190,900

66,941

Wisconsin

177,100

62,102

Washington

164,700

57,753

Colorado

163,800

57,438

Maryland

161,200

56,526

Kentucky

160,700

56,351

Alabama

155,800

54,633

Massachusetts

149,600

52,458

Louisiana

147,000

51,547

South Carolina

145,000

50,845

Oklahoma

136,500

47,865

Iowa

117,000

41,027

Oregon

114,200

40,045

Kansas

112,700

39,519

Mississippi

108,100

37,906

Connecticut

107,300

37,626

Nevada

102,400

35,907

Arkansas

96,700

33,909

Utah

84,200

29,525

Nebraska

74,900

26,264

New Mexico

64,100

22,477

West Virginia

62,200

21,811

Idaho

48,600

17,042

Hawaii

46,800

16,411

New Hampshire

39,200

13,746

Maine

38,900

13,641

Montana

32,300

11,326

South Dakota

27,400

9,608

Delaware

26,900

9,433

Rhode Island

26,700

9,363

District of Columbia

26,000

9,117

North Dakota

23,600

8,276

Vermont

22,100

7,750

Alaska

20,300

7,118

Wyoming

20,100

7,048

U.S. Total

9,125,700

3,199,895


###