People with disabilities faced an unemployment rate more than twice as high as that of the general population last year, according to new federal statistics.

In 2014, the jobless rate for Americans with disabilities was 12.5 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor said. By comparison, the figure was just 5.9 percent for those who are typically developing.

Struggles with unemployment persisted for people with disabilities across all age groups and among those with varying levels of education, the Labor Department said.

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Meanwhile, about 8 in 10 people with disabilities were not in the labor force in 2014 meaning that they were not working and were not seeking employment. By comparison, just 3 in 10 people in the general population fit in this category.

The findings are based on data collected through the Current Population Survey, a monthly poll of about 60,000 households across the country that asks about the labor force experiences of Americans age 16 and over who do not live in institutions.

Despite the high rate of unemployment documented in 2014, the Labor Department figures suggest that the employment situation for Americans with disabilities improved somewhat over the previous year when the jobless rate was at 13.2 percent.

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