Disabled’s Labor Force Participation

Welcome back. Surprise! I’ve some good news for a change: People with disabilities maintained a record labor force participation rate, outperforming people without disabilities.

How to make your company accessible for disabled employees (photo from Bloomberg tweet, twitter.com/business/status/1640066137944731650).

The statistics were reported in the National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE), issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD).

The UNH-IOD was established at the University of New Hampshire in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for improving knowledge, policies and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families.

The numbers in nTIDE are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report, but they have been reworked by UNH-IOD to combine men and women of working age (16- 64). nTIDE is funded by Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability and a global leader in rehabilitation research.

The labor force participation rate reflects the percentage of people that are working, on temporary layoff, on furlough, or actively looking for work in the last four weeks relative to the total population.

Year-to-Year nTIDE Change (March 2022-2023)
Likely reflecting the economy’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 37.8% in March 2022 to 40.2% in March 2023, a difference of 2.4% or a relative increase of 6.3% (2.4%/37.8%). The labor force participation rate for people without disabilities (ages 16-64) increased over the year from 77.2% to 77.6%, a difference of 0.4% or a relative increase of 0.5% (0.4%/77.2%).

nTIDE Year-to-Year Comparison of Labor Market Indicators for People with and without Disabilities (from www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985442).

With regard to employment, a key indicator is the employment-to-population ratio, the percentage of people that are working relative to the total population. The employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 34.1% in March 2022 to 36.6% in March 2023, a difference of 2.5% or a relative increase of 7.3%. The employment-to-population ratio for working-age people without disabilities (ages 16-64) increased over the year from 74.5% to 74.9%, a difference of 0.4% or a relative increase of  0.5%.

Month-to-Month nTIDE Change (February to March 2023)
As for the monthly numbers, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) remained at 40.2% from February to March 2023. For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the monthly labor force participation rate increased from 77.3% to 77.6%, a difference of 0.3% or a relative increase of 0.4%.

nTIDE Month-to-Month Comparison of Labor Market Indicators for People with and without Disabilities (from www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985442).

The monthly employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) decreased from 36.9% to 36.6%, a difference of 0.3% or a relative decrease of 0.8%. For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the employment-to-population ratio increased over the month from 74.4% to 74.9%, a difference of 0.5% or a relative increase of 0.7%.

In March, the 5,997,000 workers with disabilities represented 4.0% of the total 149,952,000 workers ages 16-64 in the U.S.

Wrap Up
Each nTIDE release is followed by an nTIDE Lunch & Learn online webinar. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, and features invited panelists who discuss current disability-related findings and events. For information, visit: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE

Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.
The nTIDE March 2023 Jobs Report:
-  kesslerfoundation.org/press-release/ntide-march-2023-jobs-report-people-disabilities-maintain-record-labor-force?utm_source=Webpage&utm_medium=Hero_Banner&utm_id=nTIDE_March_2023_People_Disabilities%20Maintain_Record_Labor_Force_Participation_Rate
-  www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985442
Kessler Foundation: kesslerfoundation.org/
University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability : www.researchondisability.org/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Economic News Release: www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm