The number of Americans getting health insurance from their employer continues to drop, with a record low 44.6 percent getting employer-sponsored coverage in 2011, compared to 45.8 percent in 2010, according to Gallup numbers.

This continues the downward trend Gallup and Healthways have documented for the last few years. In 2008, roughly half of Americans received health insurance from their employer.

Meanwhile, Gallup says, the percentage of Americans who are uninsured has also increased, rising to 17.1 percent this year, the highest seen since 2008.

Increased unemployment is one factor in this trend, but cost and availability are others. Either some workers can no longer afford the rising cost of health insurance the employer offers, Gallup research notes, or simply put, the employer is not offering health insurance any longer.

Additionally, the proportion of the U.S. work force that is composed of part-time workers—a group less likely to receive employer-based health insurance than full-time workers—has increased. Employer-based health insurance declined among most major population subgroups last year, with the exception of young adults and seniors. It also is down significantly compared with 2008 across all groups.

High-income Americans are by far the most likely to say they get their health insurance from an employer, with 70.4 percent doing so in 2011. Low-income Americans are among the least likely to have employer-based health coverage, at 23.7 percent.