The unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities climbed last month, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

In August, the jobless rate was 12.8 percent for those with disabilities. That’s up from 12.1 percent the month prior.

The change appeared to be at least partly due to an increase in the overall number of people with disabilities counted in the federal government’s monthly data collection.

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At the same time, unemployment among the general population declined slightly to 6.1 percent as the economy added 142,000 jobs, the Labor Department said.

Federal officials 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.

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