Disability employment in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Employment
The term civilian labor force is used to describe the Americans who have jobs or are seeking a job, are at least 16 years old, are not serving in the military, and are not institutionalized. Persons with disabilities that possess the ability to work in the everyday U.S. economy are included in the civilian labor force. In 2021, the participation rate among persons with a disability in the U.S. labor force was 21.3 percent. This was an increase from the previous year, when the rate sat at around 20.5 percent. In the same year, the U.S. saw an unemployment rate of 10.1 percent among those with a disability, nearly double the total U.S. rate in 2021.With fewer employment opportunities and lower chances for life-sustaining salaries, many people with disabilities end up living in poverty or depending on others for their livelihood. In the U.S., the median salary for people with a disability was 41,716 U.S. dollars in 2020, though nearly a third of disabled people have an annual income below 15,000 U.S. dollars. This was significantly lower than the median salary for their able-bodied peers, which was 50,265 U.S. dollars the same year. In 2021, around 19.7 percent of persons with a disability in the United States were living below the national poverty line. Among those participating in the civilian labor force, those with higher levels of education had the highest chance of employment. In 2021, individuals with a Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification had a 27.7 percent employment rate, whereas the rate among those with no higher education stood at 14.6 percent.
Following the surge of remote work from the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be more employment opportunities for those with disabilities in the future. The ability to work from home offers more options, as not all work locations are able or willing to accommodate their needs. While the number of workers working from home has steadily decreased in recent months, the new awareness of telework potential among businesses may open new doors for workers with disabilities.
Workplace discrimination and accommodation
While there may have been some improvement in recent years, there is still a dearth of employment opportunities for people with disabilities. For those with disabilities who are employed, many experience a lack of accommodation from their employers. This can result in a variety of barriers that make it difficult or uncomfortable for employees with disabilities to perform their job, and ultimately may lead to employees resigning. In order to reduce these barriers, employees have been encouraged to create more flexible working opportunities, such as working from home and flexible scheduling. In a 2022 survey, when asked how important the provision of requested accommodations was, 57 percent of supervisors said it was very important, and an additional 35 percent reported that it was somewhat important to them.In addition to a lack of accommodation, there can be a slew of other difficulties that people with disabilities may face in the workplace, such as discrimination from their supervisors or colleagues due to assumptions or stereotypes around their disabilities. One method for reducing such discrimination- and ultimately improving employee retention- is to increase education surrounding the topic among employees and management. According to a 2022 survey, 58 percent of supervisors reported that their companies offer regular training on disability issues and cultural competence. Of those companies, 95 percent reported the training as being effective for retention.
Although all disabled people experience employment barriers, there is still significant demographic variance among people with disabilities. Black disabled people have had the least employment opportunities. As of 2021, the unemployment rate of people with a disability was highest among Black disabled people, with a rate of 15.1 percent in 2021. Additionally, an employment gap between disabled men and women prevails, just as with able-bodied men and women. As of 2021, 21.6 percent of disabled men were employed, whereas 17 percent of disabled women were employed.