American Businesses Struggle to Pay for Healthcare
The percentage of businesses offering health benefits decreased from a high of 69% in 2010 to 59% in 2021 as the cost of providing benefits to employees and dependents climbs.
In 2022, an average of 25% of firms increased hiring of part-time or other benefits-ineligible jobs instead of full-time roles.
While half of permanent workers get health insurance from their employers or unions, only 32 percent of independent workers do.
Sources
2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey
While nearly all large firms (200 or more workers) offer health benefits to at least some workers, small firms (3-199 workers) are significantly less likely to do so.
Freelance, side hustles, and gigs: Many more Americans have become independent workers
Independent work is hardly a new phenomenon. But according to McKinsey’s 2022 American Opportunity Survey, a full 36 percent of employed respondents—roughly 58 million Americans—identify as independent workers. That’s a significant increase from 2016, when McKinsey research estimated that 27 percent of the workforce was independent.
Survey of Business Uncertainty
The Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU) is fielded by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. It was designed, tested, and refined in cooperation with Nick Bloom of Stanford University and Steven Davis of the Chicago Booth School of Business and the Hoover Institution. Bloom and Davis received research support from the Sloan Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Davis also received research support from Chicago Booth.