The unemployment rate among people with disabilities climbed back up in January after a two month decline, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Last month, unemployment reached 15.2 percent, up from 13.8 percent in December among Americans with disabilities. In comparison, unemployment also grew among the rest of the population, but not nearly as high. In January, unemployment reached 10.4 percent versus a rate of 9.5 percent in December for the general population.
Variances in seasonal work opportunities could play a role in the changing employment landscape since these numbers are not seasonally adjusted. Typically researchers need several years worth of data to calculate seasonally adjusted employment rates.
The Department of Labor began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. The data covers people with disabilities over the age of 16 who do not live in institutions. The first employment report specific to this population was made available in February 2009. Now, reports are released monthly.
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This news article does not surprise me. I have being trying to get a job since July 2007 and decided to go back to study in December because deny to stay home doing nothing constructive. The sad thing is that the Center for Independent Living takes too long to do anything and I made the decision myself and if the offer for education is there of able people. Why can I take advantage of it? This is something that I realize myself but these agencies are not reflecting this information or input. The lack of acknowledgment of this agencies only affects negatively consumers.
I suspect the actual figure is much higher. How many people with a disability has given up the search for work? How many people with a disability are under-employed, often grossly?
I do fault the Federal government for this increasingly poor employment figure. In general the enforcement of the various laws governing disability discrimination are not enforced, or at best, poorly enforced. As a person with a neurological disability I am growing increasingly frustrated. I am not under-educated in any sense of the term. I have graduate degrees, including doctoral studies.
I studied to become a Director of Disability Services in higher education. I can assure most that for the most part universities are looking for ways to get out from under the Section 504/ADA/ADAA requirements. Many universities hire people to head disability services and disability services staff who are not even remotely qualified to do anything in disability support, and often believe they can tell a student with a disability what is best for them. Increasingly universities are hiring attorneys to head disability services; attorneys that have no qualifications other than being an attorney.
Employers simply do not want employees with a disability. The Federal government being among the worst in the hiring of people with a disability, especially in the professional services jobs. Why would private sector employers hire persons with a disability when the Feds do not do it?