Bureau of Labor Stats Announces DIsability Data

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced today the first ever unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities of 13.2% (not seasonally adjusted) for the month of January. This rate is almost 5% points higher than for individuals without a self-reported disability which was 8.3% (not seasonally adjusted). The overall national unemployment rate for January was 7.6% (seasonally adjusted). BLS now plans to include an unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities every month. The number includes individuals not residing in an institution age 16 or older.

It has been often misstated over the years that the unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities is around 70%. This is the result of mistakenly subtracting the employment rate for individuals with disabilities, which has been in the range of 30% – 37% for the past several decades, from 100%. The unemployment rate is defined differently than the employment rate, and therefore a simple subtraction of the employment rate of individuals with disabilities from 100% is statistically incorrect.

For additional resources on both the employment rate and unemployment rate of individuals with disabilities, including a link explaining why the unemployment rate of individuals with disabilities has never been around 70%, see the NDRN webpage on Reports and Statistics on the Employment of Individuals with Disabilities.
For more information: David T. Hutt, Ph.D.Senior Staff Attorney, National Disability Rights Network

(202) 408-9514, (202) 408-9521 (TTY)