Job prospects improved significantly for Americans with disabilities in April, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Unemployment dropped to 12.5 percent among people with disabilities last month, the government agency said. Though that remains significantly higher than the jobless rate for the general population, the news reflects a marked decline from the 15.2 percent unemployment rate reported in March among this group.
The improved situation for those with disabilities comes as the economy as a whole added 115,000 jobs in April, a number that fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for the general population remained relatively stagnant at 8.1 percent.
The Labor Department began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. There is not yet enough data compiled to establish seasonal trends among this population, so statistics for this group are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on people with disabilities covers those 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.
I find this figure a bit hard to believe. I have been hearing figures in the 40-60%+ range and now it’s down to 12%? I’d be interested to learn the exact source in the DOL before I believe this figue.
The article reads: “Unemployment dropped to 12.5 percent among people with disabilities last month, the government agency said. Though that remains significantly higher than the jobless rate for the general population, the news reflects a marked decline from the 15.2 percent unemployment rate reported in March among this group.”
This administration needs to get real. Do they really believe that unemployment for people with disabilities is at 12.5 percent? Seriously!? More like 75 percent. What a joke that this information was regurgitated like gospel from the WH that spews lie after lie. Here’s a perfect example.
I am thrilled to see a positive trend related to jobs for people with disabilities, and that the data is being gathered systematically. That said, I caution readers to ask more questions, in order to really understand the situation before deciding that the problem of unemployment for people with disabilities has been solved. For example, I am interested to know more details about who is included in these statistics, and what the trends are for people who represent subcategories of disability, such as cognitive impairment, mental health disorders, and developmental disabilities. In the past, these groups of people have been shown to have the most difficulty with attaining and sustaining employment. I would also like to know how many hours per week the people described were working, and in what kinds of settings (competitive versus supported or sheltered) they were employed. I do not want to be a “downer”, but sometimes a hint of good news results in diminished effort, and I think that it is much too soon for that!
Does Department of Labor do this number the same way they do the general unemployment rate? If so, they won’t count people who are underemployed as unemployed. Do things like sheltered workshops, day programs, work sites etc. count as employment? I bet they do. Also, and this will upset many, I’ll wager that the vast number of people with disabilities are counted as “discouraged”. Those are people who are unemployed and have not been looking for a job in a while. People who have disabilities which are of such a nature to prohibit them from working on a consistent schedule, people who have to worry about their medical eligibility, and those who don’t think they stand a chance in the current job market will no doubt make up this very large group. I reject any number coming out of D.O.L. at the moment, and this unemployment figure for people with disabilities seems way low.
The article above is partially accurate, but does not use the data completely and thus the conclusions are inaccurate. There is in fact, at best “stagnant” job growth for persons with disabilities.
The DOL/BLS data are here http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t06.htm
It is true that the “unemployment rate” for persons with disabilities is 12.5% for April 2012 (and has dropped from 14.5% in April 2011). HOWEVER, that is NOT a very accurate measure of unemployment, as the rate does not include persons discouraged and no longer actively looking for work. Even using BLS data, see 2 rows above “employment-population ratio — the rate is 63.8% for persons without disabilities (here a larger number is good). The rate is a dismal 17.8% (up a mere.1% from last year) for persons with disabilities. Indeed the accurate conclusion using BLS data is that participation in the work economy for persons with disabilities is pathetic; persons with disabilities are 3.5x less likely to be working than non disabled persons. And, with only a .1% increase in the employment-population ratio (same as for non disabled persons) the job growth is “stagnant.”