People with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, March 3, 2026 		                       USDL-26-0364

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps 
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                 PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS -- 2025


In 2025, 22.8 percent of people with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported today. This ratio is little different from the prior year. In contrast, 65.2
percent of those without a disability were employed, down by 0.3 percentage point over the year. 
The unemployment rate for people with a disability increased by 0.8 percentage point to 8.3 percent
over the year, while the rate for those without a disability increased by 0.3 percentage point to 
4.1 percent.

The data on people with a disability are collected as part of the Current Population Survey, a 
monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides statistics on employment and 
unemployment in the United States. The collection of data on people with a disability is sponsored
by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. For more information, see 
the Technical Note in this news release.

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________
|											     |
|                    Federal Government Shutdown Impact on Disability Data		     |
|											     |
| The Current Population Survey (CPS) for October 2025 was not collected due to the federal  |
| government shutdown. As a result, annual estimates for 2025 household survey data were     |
| produced using 11-month averages that exclude October. Consequently, 2025 annual estimates |
| are not strictly comparable with annual averages for other years.                          |
|                                                                                            |
| For information about the impact of the federal government shutdown on CPS data, see       |
| www.bls.gov/cps/methods/2025-federal-government-shutdown-impact-cps.htm.                   |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|


Highlights from the 2025 data:

 --Half of all people with a disability were age 65 and over, nearly three times larger than the 
   share for those with no disability. (See table 1.)

 --Across all age groups, people with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were 
   those with no disability. (See table 1.)
 
 --The unemployment rate for people with a disability was double the rate for those with no 
   disability. (See table 1.)
 
 --Workers with a disability were nearly twice as likely to work part time as workers with no
   disability. (See table 2.)
 
 --Workers with a disability were more likely to be self-employed than were those with no 
   disability. (See table 4.)
 
Demographic characteristics

People with a disability accounted for about 13 percent of the population in 2025. Those with a
disability tend to be older than people with no disability, reflecting the increased incidence of
disability with age. In 2025, half of those with a disability were age 65 and over, compared with
about 18 percent of those with no disability. Overall, women were more likely to have a disability
than were men, partly reflecting the greater life expectancy of women. Among the major race and 
ethnicity groups, people who are White (about 13 percent) or Black or African American (about 14 
percent) had a higher prevalence of disability than those who are Asian (about 6 percent) or 
Hispanic or Latino (about 9 percent). (See table 1.)

Employment

The employment-population ratio--that is, the percentage of the population that is employed--for 
people with a disability was 22.8 percent in 2025, little changed from the prior year. In contrast,
the ratio for those with no disability decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 65.2 percent. The lower
ratio among people with a disability reflects, in part, their older age profile, as people age 65 
and over are less likely to be employed regardless of disability status. However, across all age 
groups, people with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were those with no 
disability. (See tables A and 1.)

Among people with a disability ages 16 to 64, the employment-population ratio, at 38.1 percent in 
2025, changed little over the year. Similarly, the ratio for people with a disability age 65 and 
over was little changed at 7.8 percent. (See table A.)

Among people age 25 and older, people with a disability were less likely to have completed a 
bachelor's degree or higher than were those with no disability. In 2025, about 24 percent of all
people with a disability had completed a bachelor's degree or higher compared with about 42 percent
of those with no disability. Among both groups, those who had attained higher levels of education 
were more likely to be employed than were those with less education. For all levels of education, 
people with a disability were much less likely to be employed than their counterparts with no 
disability. (See table 1.)

Workers with a disability were more likely to be employed part time than those with no disability.
In 2025, about 30 percent of those with a disability usually worked part time compared with about 
17 percent of workers without a disability. About 4 percent of workers with a disability and 3 
percent of those without a disability worked part time for economic reasons. These individuals
would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been
reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table 2.)

In 2025, people with a disability were more likely than those with no disability to work in sales
and office occupations (21.0 percent compared with 18.6 percent, respectively) and in service 
occupations (20.0 percent compared with 16.5 percent). People with a disability were also more 
likely to work in production, transportation, and material moving occupations (13.8 percent 
compared with 12.0 percent). However, people with a disability were much less likely to work in
management, professional, and related occupations than were their counterparts with no disability
(37.5 percent compared with 43.9 percent). People with a disability were also somewhat less likely
to be employed in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (7.7 percent 
compared with 9.0 percent). (See table 3.)

A larger share of people with a disability were self-employed than were those with no disability in
2025 (9.1 percent compared with 5.9 percent). Those with a disability were slightly more likely to
be employed by the federal government than were their counterparts with no disability (3.4 percent
compared with 2.4 percent). Conversely, people with a disability were slightly less likely than
those with no disability to be employed by local government (5.4 percent compared with 6.2 percent). 
The proportions of people employed by state governments were little different among those with and 
without a disability. People with a disability were also less likely to be employed as private wage
and salary workers than were those with no disability (76.8 percent compared with 80.7 percent). 
(See table 4.)

Unemployment

The unemployment rate for people with a disability was about twice that of those with no disability
in 2025. The unemployment rate for people with a disability increased by 0.8 percentage point to 
8.3 percent in 2025, while the rate for people without a disability increased by 0.3 percentage 
point to 4.1 percent. (See table A.)

In 2025, the unemployment rate for men with a disability increased by 0.9 percentage point to 8.4
percent and the rate for women with a disability was little changed at 8.1 percent. Among the major
race and ethnicity groups, the jobless rates for people with a disability who are Black or African
American (11.8 percent) or Hispanic or Latino (9.5 percent) were higher than the rate for those who
are White (7.3 percent). The unemployment rate for people with a disability who are Asian was 7.9 
percent. These rates showed little change over the year. (See table 1.)

Among people age 25 and older, unemployment rates were much higher for people with a disability 
than for those with no disability across all educational attainment groups. The unemployment rate 
of people with a disability who had completed a bachelor's degree or higher rose by 0.9 percentage 
point over the year to 5.3 percent in 2025, while the jobless rate of their counterparts with no
disability increased by 0.3 percentage point to 2.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Not in the labor force

People who are neither employed nor unemployed are considered not in the labor force. A large 
proportion of people with a disability--about 75 percent--were not in the labor force in 2025, 
compared with about 32 percent of those with no disability. In part, this too reflects the older 
age profile of people with a disability; people age 65 and over were much less likely to 
participate in the labor force than were those in younger age groups. Across all age groups, 
however, people with a disability were less likely to participate in the labor force than were 
those with no disability. (See table 1.)

For both people with and without a disability, the vast majority of those who were not in the labor
force did not want a job. Among those not in the labor force, about 3 percent of those with a 
disability wanted a job in 2025, lower than the nearly 7 percent of those without a disability. 
Among people who wanted a job, a subset is classified as marginally attached to the labor force.
These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior
12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (People marginally 
attached to the labor force include discouraged workers.) About 1 percent of people with a 
disability were marginally attached to the labor force in 2025. (See table 5.)

Technical Note 

The estimates in this news release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which
provides information on the labor force status, demographics, and other characteristics of the
nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The survey is conducted monthly
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected
national sample of about 60,000 eligible households.

Questions were added to the CPS in June 2008 to identify people with a disability in the civilian
noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The addition of these questions allowed the BLS to
begin releasing monthly labor force data from the CPS for people with a disability. The collection
of these data is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.

Reliability of the estimates 

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample,
rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may
differ from the true population values they represent. The component of this difference that
occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is
measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of
confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors
from the true population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted
at the 90-percent level of confidence. 

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many
reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain 
information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to
provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. 

Additional information about the reliability of data from the CPS and estimating standard errors
is available at www.bls.gov/cps/methods/reliability-of-CPS-estimates.htm. 

CPS estimates are controlled to population totals that are available by age, sex, race, and
Hispanic ethnicity. These controls are developed by the Census Bureau and are based on complete
population counts obtained in the decennial census. In the years between decennial censuses, they
incorporate the latest information about population change (births, deaths, and net international
migration). As part of its annual update of population estimates, the Census Bureau introduces
adjustments to the total population controls. The updated controls typically have a negligible
impact on unemployment rates and other ratios. The estimates of the population of people with a
disability are not controlled to independent population totals of people with a disability because
such data are not available. Without independent population totals, sample-based estimates are
more apt to vary from one time period to the next. Information about population controls is
available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

Disability questions and concepts 

The CPS uses a set of six questions to identify people with disabilities. In the CPS, people are
classified as having a disability if there is a response of "yes" to any of these questions. The
disability questions appear in the CPS in the following format: 

This month we want to learn about people who have physical, mental, or emotional conditions that
cause serious difficulty with their daily activities. Please answer for household members who
are 15 years and over.

 --Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty hearing? 

 --Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? 

 --Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have serious difficulty
   concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? 

 --Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? 

 --Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing? 

 --Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have difficulty doing
   errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping?

The CPS questions for identifying individuals with disabilities are only asked of household
members who are age 15 and over. Each of the questions ask the respondent whether anyone in the
household has the condition described, and if the respondent replies "yes," they are then asked
to identify everyone in the household who has the condition. Labor force measures from the CPS
are tabulated for people age 16 and over. More information on the disability questions and the
limitations of the CPS disability data is available on the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability_faq.htm. 

Other definitions

Other definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Additional information on the
concepts and methodology of the CPS is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm. 

Employed. Employed people are all those who, during the survey reference week, (a) did any work at
all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm; or 
(c) worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family member's business. People who were
temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor dispute, or
another reason also are counted as employed. 

Unemployed. Unemployed people are those who had no employment during the reference week, were
available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during
the 4- week period ending with the reference week. People who were waiting to be recalled to a job
from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as
unemployed. 

Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all people classified as employed or
unemployed.

Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent of the labor force. 

Not in the labor force. People not in the labor force include all those who are not classified as
employed or unemployed. Information is collected on their desire for and availability to take a
job at the time of the CPS interview, job search activity in the prior year, and reason for not
looking in the 4-week period ending with the reference week. This group includes individuals
marginally attached to the labor force, defined as people not in the labor force who want and are
available for a job and who have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months (or since the end
of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months). They are not counted as unemployed
because they had not actively searched for work in the prior 4 weeks. Within the marginally
attached group are discouraged workers—people who are not currently looking for work because they
believe there are no jobs available or there are none for which they would qualify. The other
people marginally attached to the labor force group includes people who want a job but had not
looked for work in the past 4 weeks for reasons such as family responsibilities or transportation
problems. 

Part time for economic reasons. People classified as at work part time for economic reasons, a
measure sometimes referred to as involuntary part time, are those who gave an economic reason for
working 1 to 34 hours during the reference week. Economic reasons include slack work or
unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, and seasonal declines in
demand. Those who usually work part time must also indicate that they want and are available for
full-time work to be classified as part time for economic reasons. 

Occupation, industry, and class of worker. The occupation, industry, and class of worker
classifications for the employed relate to the job held in the survey reference week. People with
two or more jobs are classified in the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours.
People are classified using the 2018 Census occupational and 2022 Census industry classification
systems. The class-of-worker breakdown assigns workers to the following categories: private and
government wage and salary workers, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Wage and
salary workers receive wages, salary, commissions, tips, or pay in kind from a private employer or
from a government unit. Self-employed people are those who work for profit or fees in their own
business, profession, trade, or farm. Only the unincorporated self-employed are included in the
self-employed category. Self-employed people who respond that their businesses are incorporated
are included among wage and salary workers. Unpaid family workers are people working without pay
for 15 hours a week or more on a farm or in a business operated by a family member in their
household.