It appears the longer it takes healthcare reform to come out of Washington, the longer it’ll take for unemployment rates to come down. The reason:

Until companies see what the financial ramifications of healthcare reform are, they plan to hold off hiring more employees, according to a recent New York Times article.

Then — once companies do finally decide to expand — adding new staff won’t be their first step. Instead, companies will ramp up hours for those already on staff, say business experts.

So many companies have already cut hours for existing workers that when it comes time to ramp up production again, they can afford to increase current employees’ workload before cranking up recruiting efforts.

Only after that will businesses look to add staff, experts predict.

So despite signs the economy is growing, the job market’s worse than it’s ever been in the current recession.

Just how bad have things gotten? Job hunters now outnumber openings six to one, according to the Department of Labor (DOL). That’s the worst ratio since the DOL began tracking open positions in 2000.

Tags: department of labor, dol, healthcare reform, New York Times, recession, unemployment rates