While hourly employers have an eye on the presidential election and its potential effects on health care, most are not waiting until after Election Day to make business decisions, according to a poll of hourly employers by Snagajob.
More than half of hourly employers (55 percent) cited potential health care requirements as the key presidential election issue most likely to affect their business. Possible economic stimulus plans (25 percent) and tax code changes (14 percent) were among other concerns weighing on hourly employers.
But while hiring managers cited healthcare requirements as a chief concern pending the outcome of the presidential election, business has continued as usual. More than two-thirds (67 percent) said that they did not have a "wait and see" attitude about their business plans during the campaign process.
"Some in the market may have expected that hourly employers would have a 'wait and see' business attitude in light of the upcoming election," said Jason Hamilton, vice president of marketing for Snagajob. "But when you consider that about 60 percent of our workforce is paid by the hour and that hourly businesses support many of the everyday services that we depend on, it makes sense that hourly employers have to press on, presidential election or not."
Staffing remains the top priority for those polled, specifically hiring and retaining good employees. When asked to evaluate a number of business factors, 64 percent of hourly employers said that the ability to hire good employees was "extremely important," with a similar number citing the ability to retain good employees (63 percent). When evaluating other factors, 35 percent of hourly employers said a decrease in consumer spending was "extremely important" in terms of affecting their business, as is an increase in hard costs (29 percent).
"It might be hard for a manager to attach a specific dollar amount to staffing their front lines and replacing a good employee, but as this poll demonstrates, hourly employers still see quality staff as their top business priority," Hamilton said.
These results are based on an online survey that was administered between Sept. 7-21, garnering 362 employer responses.
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