For the fourth month in a row, the unemployment rate among people with disabilities crept higher in August, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.
The jobless rate hit 13.9 percent for Americans with disabilities in August, up from 13.6 percent the month prior.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among the general population improved slightly, falling to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent.
Nonetheless, the jobless figures represent only part of the picture. Statistics show that during the same period, the number of people — both with disabilities and without — who gave up on looking for work also grew.
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.
How exactly do they track people with disabilitties over the age of 16 who do not live in an institution who do not have a job? How do they know they are actually counting ALL of the people who consider themselves to have a disability and want a job? Do they just count those who have filed for unemployment? Inquiring minds want to know ……..
We must break the numbers down to really understand what is happening. People “with disabilities” is too broad to provide insight. Breakdown people with physical disabilities but not intellectual; and perhaps subgroups of this population – i.e. blind, people using chairs but with normal upper body functionality; people with developmental disabilities (who have 50+ percent unemployment).
Also using age 16 and above distorts actionable data. 95% of those with developmental disabilities are not in the job market until after their 22nd birthday, and most others are at least 18 before they are serious job seekers.