The San Diego Union-Tribune cites a recent SBA report on the rising cost of benefits and the affects to small business.

The cost of employee benefits and the wherewithal to offer them are sizable problems for all small businesses, according to a new survey by the Small Business Administration.

The rising cost of employee benefits, combined with a the projection of an abundance of employment options and a shrinking pool of available workers, raises the stakes for small business owners looking to compete for top-notch employees.

In 1999, 67.9 percent of workers in private companies with more than 1,000 employees had access to health insurance, compared with 54.2 percent for companies that employed 25 to 99 workers, and 32.9 percent for companies with fewer than 10 workers, the SBA reported.

Three years later, the percentage of workers in large companies with access was down to 64.3 percent, while companies that employed 25 to 99 workers covered 50.4 percent, and companies with fewer than 10 workers covered 31.5 percent.

If you own a small business, what trends to you see with employee benefits and its affect on your available labor pool? If you work for a small business, what difference do you see in your benefit options as compared to offers from larger companies?