...Training Center Disability Demographics and Statistics [StatsRRTC], 2005), information from the American Community Surveys, 12.1% of working-age people currently had a disability. Within this population, 2.8% had a sensory disability, 7.6% had a physical disability, 4.2% had a mental disability, 2.0% had a self care disability, 3.0% had a disability that affected their ability to go outside the home and 7.0% had a disability that affected their ability to work.

Additional information from the Disability Status Report (StatsRRTC, 2005) reveals that the employment rate of working age people with disabilities decreased from 37.9% in 2003 to 37.5% in 2004, while the employment rate for working-age people without disabilities increased from 77.6% in 2003 to 77.8% in 2004. Within the population of persons with disabilities, 47.3% had a sensory disability, 31.8% had a physical disability, 28.5% had a mental disability, 17.6% had a self-care disability, 16.7% had a disability that affected their ability to go outside and 17.3% had a disability that affected their ability to work. The percentage of working-age people with disabilities working full-time/full-year decreased from 23.0% in 2003 to 22.4% in 2004, while the percentage of working-age people without disabilities decreased from 56.4% in 2003 to 56.2% in 2004. Lastly, the percentage of working-age people with sensory, physical and/or mental disabilities that reported an employment disability (difficulty working at a job or business) increased from 53.2% in 2003 to 54.2% in 2004.

The National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.)/Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities (2000) surveyed 997 adults with disabilities and 953 adults without disabilities in May and June 2000. Among working age adults (18-64) with disabilities, three out of ten (32%) work full or part-time, compared to eight out often (81%) of those without disabilities, a gap of 49%. This is a slight increase over the 1998 Lou Harris poll which showed an employment rate of 79% for persons without a disability and 29% for persons with a disability (Harris and Associates, 1998).

When measuring employment, it may not be appropriate to look at all people with disabilities aged 18-64 since there are a significant number of people who say they are completely unable to work due to their disabilities. It is noteworthy that over the past fourteen years, the percentage of people with disabilities who say they are unable to work has risen steadily from 29% to 43% (Harris Interactive, Inc., 2000). Among the unemployed, more than two out of three people with disabilities (67%) would prefer to work. When looking only at people with disabilities who say they are able to work, the employment rate has increased gradually from 46% in 1986 to 56% in 2000. Some respondents believed that this increase could be attributed, at least in part, to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Other factors that are likely to have sparked this change are a strong economy and a growth in technology, both of which allow companies to make accommodations that they had not made in the past.

Employment by Type of Disability

Baldwin (1999) noted that because of differences in the nature and onset of health conditions, it was important to study the labor market experiences of different impairment groups separately, rather than treat workers with a disability and potential workers as a single group. The author studied data from the 1984 and 1990 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to analyze trends in the employment and wages of six impairment groups in the years immediately preceding the ADA. She found that persons with mental conditions consistently had the poorest labor market outcomes. Their employment rates and wages were the lowest among all impairment groups and showed no improvement between 1984 and 1990. Musculoskeletal conditions were the most common impairment category and persons in this group had comparatively high average wages. However, employment rates for persons with musculoskeletal conditions were only at the median for the groups with disabilities.

The most significant changes in employment and wages between 1984 and 1990 occurred for persons with sensory and respiratory conditions. Employment rates declined for both groups, and persons with sensory impairments experienced decreasing relative wages as well. Finally, persons with cardiovascular conditions made some labor market gains between 1984 and 1990, but the relative prevalence of these conditions declined considerably. Baldwin further stated that these results confirm the diversity of labor market experiences within the population with disabilities and suggests that policies designed to improve labor market outcomes for workers with disabilities should be targeted to the different needs of different impairment groups.

Zwerling, et al. (2002) found that persons with cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and respiratory disabilities were less likely to work than other Americans with disabilities. Persons with psychiatric disabilities showed considerable variety in their likelihood to work. Those with schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder, bipolar disorder and major depression were also less likely to procure and maintain work. Further, persons with self-reported alcohol abuse were more likely to work compared persons with self-reported drug abuse, other than alcohol, who were not as likely to work. Kaye (2001) reported that of all the groups analyzed, people with severe mobility impairments were the least likely to be employed (< 24%). Approximately 32% of people with mental retardation, 33% of people with mental health disability, 34% of people with...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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