More than half of senior executives name offering health care benefits as the top business challenge, and 35 percent of senior executives say they are delaying bringing in more employees because of health care reform and its related costs, according to a new survey by Adecco Staffing US.

Still, health care costs have long remained a challenge for employers as another 35 percent of respondents say it ranked as their primary concern prior to the recession. Salary and compensation costs come in as the second concern in today's climate, according to 41 percent of respondents, an increase from 33 percent before the recession.

"While there certainly have been political and economic changes since the recession started in 2007, it's interesting to see that senior executives face the same challenges they did five years ago," says Joyce Russell, president of Adecco Staffing US. "Business leaders continuing to find competitive health care and salary packages as their two biggest challenges calls attention to the impact that the economy and changing regulations can have for an organization. As regulations change, businesses are often put in situations where they're faced with figuring out how to adjust their systems and processes to comply with policies instead of completely focusing on ongoing business challenges and opportunities."