Federal Reserve Considers Obamacare's Role in Shortening Work Hours

The health care law is killing full-time jobs

Bailey Brewer, 28, is a writer with a graduate degree in journalism. She's been employed since the start of the year as a temporary office worker, unable to find a full-time job.

"The part-time thing, I'm really grateful for the work, but it's also really frustrating because nothing is renewable," Brewer said. "I want to feel settled in Los Angeles."

Brewer isn't alone. The number of workers holding full-time positions fell in the U.S. in June as part-timers hit a record after rising for three straight months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics household data. Part-time employment has been outpacing full-time job growth since 2008. Economists cite still-tough economic conditions as the root cause, with some saying President Barack Obama's 2010 health-care law exacerbates the trend. …

"One thing that we hear in the commentary that we get at the FOMC is that some employers are hiring part-time in order to avoid the mandate," Bernanke said. He added that "the very high level of part-time employment has been around since the beginning of the recovery, and we don't fully understand it."