Employer-Paid

The survey found nearly a third of franchise businesses have cut workers hours because of the requirement that companies with 50 or more full-time workers offer health insurance or pay a fine."

The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, the fifth straight decline that shows businesses see little need to cut jobs.

The new 2013 figures from the Census Bureau underscore the impact of the sluggish economy on young people.

Vice President Joe Biden will head to Atlanta this week to promote the need for an immigration overhaul during a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens.

The 159,500 net new jobs in retail in October marked a 6.7 percent increase from October 2012, when retailers increased their payrolls by 149,400, the outplacement firm said.

The nominal rate of the minimum wage has increased by 2,800 percent from its original value of 25 cents per hour, but the real value of the wage has declined from its 1968 peak by 33 percent.