Recent Evidence on the ACA and Employment: Has the ACA Been a Job Killer? 2016 Update

Abstract

This brief examines effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on labor market outcomes using data from the Current Population Survey from 2000 to 2016. Results indicate that through 2016, the ACA had little to no adverse effect on employment and usual hours worked per week. Levels of part-time work (29 or fewer hours per week) have fallen since 2014, but remain at somewhat higher levels than would be expected at this stage of the economic recovery. The higher-than-expected rate of part-time work is driven by increases in voluntary part-time employment. Involuntary part-time employment was lower than expected. These findings suggest that the ACA did not lead to widespread cutbacks in workers’ hours by employers attempting to avoid employer mandate penalties, but may have led some workers to reduce the number of hours they chose to work.

Keywords: ACA, Employment, Part-Time, Labor Suppy, Labor Demand, Health Insurance

JEL Classification: I10, I11, J01, J08, J20