Recent reports about people with disabilities pointed out that this group have made strides over the pandemic amid a tight labor market and acceptance of remote work. The share of working disabled adults (16-64 years old) rose at a faster pace that adults without disabilities, and their jobless rate fell to a record low — record-taking started in 2008 — at the end of 2022 when it hit 5.35%.
While this is news to cheer about, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that there is a still a wide employment and unemployment rate gap between people with and without disabilities.
It's twice as possible that people with disabilities will be jobless compared to people without disabilities. And they are half as likely to be in the labor force (people who are either working or actively looking for work). The unemployment rate for both people with and without disabilities rose month-on-month in January 2023.
Unemployment rate of people with disabilities has fallen from COVID-19 highs,
but still higher than those without
People with disabilities are about twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those without disabilities
COVID-19 starts
20%
Apr 2020: 19.7%
15
14.3%
Unemployment rate
in Oct 2019: 7.6%
Jan 2023: 7.5%
People with disabilities
10
3.3%
5
3.3%
0
Jan 2023
Apr 2019
Oct 2019
Apr 2020
Oct 2020
Apr 2021
Oct 2021
Apr 2022
Oct 2022
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Report
Unemployment rate of people with disabilities has fallen
from COVID-19 highs, but still higher than those with no disabilities
People with disabilities are about twice as likely to be unemployed
compared to those without disabilities
Unemployment rate
COVID-19 starts
20%
Apr 2020: 19.7%
15
14.3%
People with disabilities
Jan 2023: 7.5%
7.6%
10
3.3%
5
3.3%
0
Jan 2023
Oct 2022
Apr 2019
Oct 2019
Apr 2020
Oct 2020
Apr 2021
Oct 2021
Apr 2022
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Report
More people with disabilities are entering the labor force
But people with disabilities are only half as likely to be employed or are actively finding work
76.9%
(-0.1% pt)
COVID-19
starts
80%
People without disabilities
Labor force participation rate
in Jan 2019: 77.0%
70
60
50
39.7%
(+6.6% pt)
People with disabilities
40
33.1%
Jul 2022
Jan 2023
Jul 2019
Apr 2020
Jul 2020
Jul 2021
Jan 2019
Jan 2020
Jan 2022
Jan 2021
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Report
More people with disabilities are entering the labor force
But people with disabilities are only half as likely to be employed
or are actively finding work
76.9%
(-0.1% pt)
Labor force participation rate
COVID-19
starts
80%
People without disabilities
77.0%
70
60
50
39.7%
(+6.6% pt)
40
People with disabilities
33.1%
Jul
2019
Apr
2020
Jul
2020
Jul
2021
Jul
2022
Jan
2019
Jan
2020
Jan 2021
Jan 2022
Jan 2023
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Report
People with disabilities who are working are more likely to be in lower-paying jobs, such as retail and hospitality, according to BLS data.
These are also jobs that offer fewer opportunities for advancement, and lack employer-paid health care and other benefits, the 2020 Progress Report on National Disability Policy: Increasing Disability Employment pointed out. The report added that people with disabilities are vastly underrepresented in the fastest-growing occupations in the economy and overrepresented in the occupations with the fastest rate of decline.
For example, retail-related jobs such as cashiers, and hospitality-related jobs like fast food cooks are jobs projected to have the largest employment decline between 2021 and 2031. Jobs in healthcare and professional STEM-related fields, which have fewer people with disabilities compared to people without disabilities, are supposed to be the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. in the same period.
BLS' latest report on people with disabiltiies noted other interesting facts worth exploring. About 30% of workers with disabilities worked part-time, compared to 16% of workers without disabilities. Is this by choice? Or is it because employers only want to offer people with disabilities part-time jobs. Service jobs tend to have more part-time openings. Or are workers with disabilities only able to work part-time because the other half of the time, they have medical needs to attend to?
An analysis of the Census Bureau's 2017 occupational data on worker with disabilities also showed that people with disabilities were more represented in jobs that were below the median wage of all workers, and people with disabilities in general earned about $6,000 less a year than people without disabilities. The top 10 jobs with the highest percentage of workers with disabilities relative to all workers in the industry included farmers, security guards, building maintenance workers, and mail clerks.
Also, slightly less than one-third of people with disabilities had a Bachelor's degree or higher, compared to more than 75% of people without disabilities. A university degree is often seen as a ticket to higher-paying jobs and job promotions. Putting intellectual disabilities aside, is it more difficult for people with disabiltiies to get higher education?
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People with disabilities are
overrepresented in sectors
with lower wages
And underrepresented in sectors
with higher wages
Professional,
Scientific, and
Technical Services
($36.98/hour)
Education and health
($24.10/hour - education;
$20.23/hour - health)
Accommodation
and Food Services
($13.69/hour)
Finance and Insurance
($29.44/hour)
Retail Trade
($14.36/hour)
13.4%
13.4%
10.2%
13.4%
7.0%
22.4%
20.7%
9.9%
11.7%
6.2%
8.6%
Person
without
Disabilities
Person
with
Disabilities
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
People with disabilities are
overrepresented in sectors with
lower wages
Accommodation
and Food Services
($13.69/hour)
9.9%
8.6%
Person
without
Disabilities
Person
with
Disabilities
Retail Trade
($14.36/hour)
13.4%
10.2%
And underrepresented in sectors
with higher wages
Education and health
($24.10/hour - education;
$20.23/hour - health)
22.4%
20.7%
Finance and Insurance
($29.44/hour)
7%
6.2%
Professional, Scientific,
and Technical Services
($36.98/hour)
13.4%
11.7%
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2020 count, about one in four people in the U.S. 18 or older has a disability, with the highest prevalance rate in southeastern states. It will be worth exploring why these states have many more people with disabilities to the overall population.
Note that CDC's count is age-adjusted. The Census Bureau has a different count — it incudes the entire noninstitutionalized population, and does not take age as a factor — and it found that about 42 million, or 13%, of people in the U.S. have a disablity in 2021.
Southern states had the highest rate of people with disabilities
Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Mississippi were the top three states,
although neighboring states like Arkansas and Louisiana had similar figures too
Percentage of people with disabilities based on state population
< 21%
21–23
21–23
23–25
23–25
25–27
25–27
27–29
27–29
29–31
29–31
≥ 31
≥ 31
21.6
21.6
21.6
27.0
27.0
27.0
26.2
26.2
26.2
24.2
24.2
24.2
19.9
19.9
19.9
20.8
20.8
20.8
25.9
25.9
25.9
21.2
21.2
21.2
28.2
28.2
28.2
21.5
21.5
21.5
21.2
21.2
21.2
22.6
22.6
22.6
23.5
23.5
23.5
20.8
20.8
20.8
26.0
26.0
26.0
23.5
23.5
23.5
23.4
20.9
20.9
20.9
25.5
25.5
25.5
21.7
21.7
21.7
20.3
20.3
20.3
28.4
28.4
28.4
25.4
25.4
25.4
19.7
19.7
19.7
23.8
22.6
22.6
22.6
26.9
26.9
26.9
22.6
22.6
22.6
32.3
19.5
19.5
19.5
21.8
21.8
21.8
22.2
22.7
22.7
22.7
25.7
25.7
25.7
28.4
28.4
28.4
32.9
25.9
25.9
25.9
29.1
29.1
29.1
33.4
24.3
24.3
24.3
26.3
26.3
26.3
31.3
30.9
24.8
24.8
24.8
31.1
32.7
32.6
25.9
25.9
25.9
21.1
21.1
21.1
25.7
25.7
25.7
18.7
18.7
18.7
Source: CDC
%tage of people with disabilities
based on state population
Southern states had the
highest rate of
people with disabilities
< 21%
21–23
21–23
23–25
23–25
Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Mississippi were
the top three states;
neighboring states had similar figures too
25–27
25–27
27–29
27–29
29–31
29–31
≥ 31
≥ 31
WV:
32.3%
KY:
32.9%
OK:
33.4%
AR:
31.3%
LA:
32.7%
LA:
32.6%
Source: CDC
Another interesting data point I found was that disability-related employment discrimination claims to the EEOC have risen over the past two and a half decades. There are now more disability-related claims than any other categories such as race and age. The most number of disability-related employment discrimination claims was filed in 2015, with 26,968 claims. It's dropped to 22,843 in 2021, but this is still higher than in the late-1990s and early naughts when it was less than 20,000.
Disability-related claims are now the top employment discrimination claims filed
Disability discrimination claims rose by 26% over the past 16 years, overtaking race and sex as the biggest
complaint among jobseekers and employees
Cases filed in 2021:
Race - 20,908
Sex - 18,762
Disability - 22,843
Age - 12,965
Cases filed in 1998:
Race - 28,820
Sex - 24,454
Disability - 17,806
Age - 15,191
Race
Sex
Disability
Age
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2021
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Disability-related claims are now the top employment
discrimination claims filed
Disability discrimination claims rose by 26% over the past 16 years, overtaking
race and sex as the biggest complaint among jobseekers and employees
Cases filed in 2002:
Race - 28,820
Sex - 24,454
Disability - 17,806
Age - 15,191
Cases filed in 2021:
Race - 20,908
Sex - 18,762
Disability - 22,843
Age - 12,965
Race
Disability
Sex
Age
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The National Council of Disability's 2020 report on the issues getting more people with disabilities work raised interesting points I should talk to people in the community and experts about. Firstly, people with disabilities that receive social security and medicaid benefits are discouraged from working, because there is an income threshold before they stop receiving benefits. Secondly, current vocational training programs and workshops are geared towards rote and low-wage jobs, instead of teaching them in-demand skills that may be science or tech-related.
And reliance on the hotly-debated sheltered workshops, with are allowed to pay workers below the minimum wage because it compares their productivity to a worker without disabilities, may be another reason why people with disabilities "are deprived of the opportunity to earn competitive wages."
Something else worth looking at could be how much more living cost a person with disability has to shoulder every year, and how this is a double whammy to the relatively lower wages they earn. This 2020 National Disability Institute working paper found that households with a disabled adult needs an extra $17,690 a year to have the same living standards as households without people with disabilities.
Methodology: I took data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Some of it were readily available in CSV format; others I compiled into a Google Sheet. For BLS' labor force participation rate and unemployment rate data, which is taken from the monthly Employment Situation reports, I used the average rate of men and women aged 16-64. This is the same metholody as the Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability, which jointly publishes the BLS data with their quotes.
After collecting the data, I used pandas to clean them a little further and plotted them using ggplot, before cleaning up the graphics on Adobe Illustrator. I used Datawrapper to create the chloropleth map, and RawGraphs to create the bump chart, and cleaned them up in Illustrator. Here is my repository.