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WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional budget experts say President Barack Obama's health care law will affect both the supply and the demand for labor, leading to a net reduction of about 2.5 million full-time jobs in 2024, ten years from now.
Tuesday's projection from the Congressional Budget Office is a significant increase from what the same nonpartisan analysts said in 2010, which roughly translated to 650,000 fewer jobs.
But the budget office still says almost all of the impact will come from people choosing not to work, or working less, because they can get health care outside the job.
Although some employers will choose not to hire additional workers, or reduce hours, the budget office said that does not appear to be the main factor.
There are more than 130 million jobs in the economy.
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