Indicator 67: Employment Rates of the Disabled

Why This Is Important

A strong economy requires the contributions that we ALL have to offer. If a class of people
is under-represented in the labor force, the economy is missing out on the valuable skills,
abilities, and assets those persons have to offer. For purposes of this Mark, persons with a
disability are those who have a “health problem or disability which prevents them from
working or which limits the kind or amount of work they can do.” A significant number of
people with disabilities are not in the labor force, and many have dropped out of the labor
force because of the difficulties they face in gaining meaningful and rewarding employment.
For example, information from the 2004 Current Population Survey shows that an estimated
4,041,000 out of the 12,909,000 (33%) non-institutionalized civilians aged 18-64 who
reported a work-limiting health problem or disability worked more than 52 hours in the prior
calendar year.

 

 

Where We Stand

Using five-year moving averages, the employment rate nationwide for civilian,
non-institutionalized people aged 18-64 with disabilities dropped consistently from 36.9%
in 1990-1994 to 31.3% in 1999-2003. The employment rate has consistently been higher
in Maine, dropping from 40.9% in 1990-1994 to 36.5% in 1994-1998, then rising
consistently to 40.2% in 1998-2002. This declined slightly in 1999-2003 to 38.9%.

Data Sources and Context

The data were calculated by the Cornell University Rehabilitation Research and Training
Center using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is conducted by the
Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These statistics were posted on 
April 4, 2005 at http://www.disabilitystatistics.org.