Our Part-tIme President Builds a Part-time Economy

The news has come in on the Jobs report - 7.8% a drop from 8.1% and President Obama is touting the figures as a positive.

You can tell our part-time president doesn't understand how people need full-time work.

When you break it down, the drop in unemployment is because of the increase in part-time employment.

Due to the increase in part-time employment, the so-called underemployment rate — which includes part-timers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want work but have given up looking — held at 14.7 percent.

Because part-time workers are typically the first to be fired when economic conditions worsen, the gain in these types of jobs takes some of the shine off the drop in joblessness, said Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research in New York.

“It’s an employment recovery built on thin ice,” said Dutta. “If there was an immediate downturn or even a weakness heading into the end of the year, who’s going to be the first one to go?”

A question: Is Obamacare fueling businesses to hire part-time workers? Yes.

For businesses to avoid the high cost of Obamacare and avoid a penalty, businesses will have to hire part-time employees.

The major provisions of the so-called Obamacare scheduled to take effect in 2014 affect employers with large numbers of part-time and low-paid workforces. For example, beginning in 2014 employers with 50 or more full-time workers -- defined as those working at least 30 hours a week -- will be required to extend coverage to all full-time employees or face possible penalties of $2,000 per employee.

 

Many retail and restaurant employers hover around the 50-worker threshold and feel that it would make economic sense to stay small -- cut hours or eliminate worker -- to avoid triggering the requirements of the law.

 

Mercer found that about 46 percent of restaurant and retail companies said they would have to change in some way once the law comes into effect, compared with 16 percent of financial-services companies.

 

And for those part-timers who don't have health insurance - well, you get taxed via Obamacare -built by Obama and Democrats.