One million Americans with disabilities are looking for a job and can’t find one according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Statistics show that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities increased slightly from August 2010 to August 2011 but declined for people without a disability. The total unemployment rate for people with disabilities is now nearly double that of the nondisabled population, according to the DOL data.
In August 2011, people with disabilities had an unemployment rate of 16.1 percent compared with 15.6 percent in August 2010. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the DOL there were 4.8 million people with a disability over the age of 16 who were working out of 5.8 million people with disabilities in the workforce.
The rate of unemployment was slightly higher for women with disabilities between the ages of 16-64, who had an unemployment rate of 17.8 percent compared with 16.4 percent for men. Unemployed seniors with disabilities totaled 10.9 percent of the disabled senior labor force.
The total unemployment rate for nondisabled people declined from 9.3 percent in August 2010 to 8.8 percent in August 2011. Seniors without disabilities have an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent. The numbers do not include people who have stopped looking for work or those who are underemployed.
Since the total population of Americans with a disability is 54 million – far higher than the 5.8 million counted in the workforce – some groups estimate that the percentage of people out of work is higher than the DOL statistics.
Kat Taylor, disability rights program manager at the Equal Rights Center in Washington, D.C. wrote in July that, “The unemployment rate of people with disabilities remains between 60-70 percent. If this community is truly to be granted equal rights, we must focus on creating more accessible and inclusive workplace communities.”
According to a 2004 survey by the United Nations, 35 percent of working-aged people with disabilities were employed and two-thirds of the unemployed respondents said they would like to work but could not find jobs. The National Council on Disability said just 38 percent of people with disabilities were employed in 2007.
Discrimination and fear of losing government benefits are two of the reasons cited to explain the large number of people who are omitted from the unemployment statistics but say they would like to be working.
Matthew Sapolin, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, said he is disappointed that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities has not improved.
Sapolin said City agencies are working to assist people with disabilities in the job hunt. He pointed to New York City’s participation in a national Disability Mentoring Day organized by the Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy at the DOL.
The October event pairs job seekers with employers in their field of interest for an exploratory career day. Last year, 150 people in the city participated and six found jobs. One man with autism and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder used his disability to enhance his skill set when he was hired to organize misplaced shoes in a busy store, Sapolin said.
Asked about the root causes of the stagnant rates of unemployment among people with disabilities, Sapolin said, “We still need to break down barriers so people can have an open mind to interviewing qualified, talented candidates.”
The news comes as President Barack Obama has outlined his $447 billion American Jobs Act, although it is unclear how the bill would help people with disabilities other than long-term unemployed veterans.
On September 8th, the President gave a speech about the act. Julie Maury, an activist with ADAPT and an intake coordinator at the Harlem Independent Living Center responded by saying, “I so want him to say pass this jobs bill and you'll get a tax break if you hire people with special needs/disabilities...maybe he said it and I missed it?”
A White House fact sheet about the act includes a Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600 for employers who hire unemployed veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600 for those who hire workers with service-connected disabilities who have been out of work for the same period of time. It does not mention people with disabilities again.
This article was published in the October 2011 issue of Able News.
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