In 2012 wage regulation changed in a number of ways. The changes affected 74 percent of workers; these changes, however, differed significantly depending on sector. Eighty percent of companies with between 5 and 50 employees implemented the expected wage increases. Of these, 93 percent compensated all their employees - in other words, all those affected by changes in the regulatory environment. The IEER's latest analysis examines how the increased burden due to the changes in the regulatory environment affected the employment situation of small businesses. According to the analysis, jobs would have been lost and the employment rate would have declined if the expected wage increases were compulsory and not linked to salary compensation. Due to the nature of the expected wage increase (non-compulsory) and the institution of wage compensation, however, this did not happen; at the same time, although the expected wage increases, which were partially neutralized by the institution of wage compensation, did not lead to job losses, it did make it more difficult to create new jobs.