The talent search for microbusinesses has never been easy, and in the era of escalating health insurance costs, owners of those businesses are particularly challenged.

That’s what Gallup found when it surveyed more than 1,000 owners of U.S. businesses with five or fewer employees. Many of these employers who have actually been in business for as long as a decade still don’t have insurance for themselves through their businesses, let alone offer any type of health insurance to employees. And that makes recruiting and retaining good people difficult.

Read: PPACA has small businesses dropping coverage

Gallup found that most of these business owners do have health insurance. But less than a third (31 percent) provide it for themselves through their own business or out of their own pockets. Instead, about a third have insurance through another employer, and nearly 20 percent use Medicare.

When it comes to insuring their workers, 21 percent said they offer it. The rest simply can’t afford it. Nearly four in 10 told Gallup they’re worried about a significant jump in health insurance costs in the next 12 months, and the effect that increase might have on their business. The most concerned, of course, were those microbusiness owners who do offer employees health coverage. Two-thirds of them said they’re very concerned about escalating insurance costs.

On the other hand, those who offer insurance said they are less concerned about finding qualified employees than those who don’t. When asked whether finding good workers is a major issue, 44 percent of those who don’t offer insurance said it was a major issue, compared to 34 percent of those who offer insurance.

“Microbusinesses must often compete with larger businesses for the same pool of employee candidates, with a significant handicap in the employee benefits they can offer,” Gallup concluded. “Perhaps more than any other metric, covering at least the owner’s health coverage appears to be an important milestone for these smallest of businesses in becoming self-sufficient enterprises with the ability to grow.”

Also read: Women still paying more for health benefits

Instant Insights /

Microbusinesses struggle with health insurance costs

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