Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, February 25, 2025 		                    USDL-25-0247

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


                 PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS -- 2024
                 
                 
In 2024, the employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population that is employed--
was 22.7 percent among those with a disability, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.5 
percent. The employment-population ratio for people with a disability changed little from
2023 to 2024, following a 1.2 percentage-point increase from 2022 to 2023. The employment-
population ratio for those without a disability decreased by 0.3 percentage point in 2024. 
The unemployment rate for people with a disability (7.5 percent) changed little in 2024, 
while the rate for those without a disability increased by 0.3 percentage point over the 
year to 3.8 percent.

The data on people with a disability are collected as part of the Current Population Survey 
(CPS), 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.

Highlights from the 2024 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.)

 --For all ages, the employment-population ratio was much lower for people with a disability 
   than for those with no disability. (See table 1.)

 --Unemployment rates were much higher for people with a disability than for those with no 
   disability across all educational attainment groups. (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 workers with no 
   disability. (See table 4.)

Demographic characteristics

People with a disability accounted for about 13 percent of the population in 2024. Those
with a disability tend to be older than people with no disability, reflecting the increased 
incidence of disability with age. In 2024, 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 (13.0 percent) and
Black or African American (13.1 percent) had a higher prevalence of disability than those 
who are Asian (6.8 percent) and Hispanic or Latino (8.7 percent). (See table 1.)

Employment

In 2024, the employment-population ratio for people with a disability changed little at 
22.7 percent. The ratio for those with no disability decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 
65.5 percent. The lower ratio among people with a disability reflects, in part, the older 
age profile of people with a disability; 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 those with no disability. 
(See tables A and 1.)

Among people with a disability ages 16 to 64, the employment-population ratio, at 37.4 
percent in 2024, changed little over the year. Similarly, the ratio for people with a 
disability age 65 and over was little changed at 8.1 percent. (See table A.)

People with a disability were less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree or higher 
than were those with no disability. In 2024, about 23 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. (Educational attainment data are presented for 
those age 25 and over.) (See table 1.)

Workers with a disability were more likely to be employed part time than were those with
no disability. About 31 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 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 2024, people with a disability were more likely to work in sales and office occupations 
than were those with no disability (20.8 percent compared with 18.4 percent, respectively). 
Workers with a disability were also more likely than those with no disability to work in 
service occupations (19.0 percent compared with 16.3 percent) and in production, 
transportation, and material moving occupations (14.2 percent compared with 12.2 percent).
People with a disability were much less likely to work in management, professional, and 
related occupations than were their counterparts with no disability (37.9 percent compared 
with 44.1 percent). Workers with a disability were also somewhat less likely to work in 
natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (8.1 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 2024 (9.2 percent versus 6.0 percent). Those with a disability were slightly
more likely to be employed by the federal government than were their counterparts with no 
disability (3.3 percent and 2.6 percent), while the proportions of people employed by state
and local governments were about the same regardless of disability status. In contrast, 
people with a disability were less likely to be employed as private wage and salary workers
(76.6 percent) than were those with no disability (80.5 percent). (See table 4.)

Unemployment

The unemployment rate for people with a disability was about twice that of those with no 
disability in 2024. (Unemployed people are those who did not have a job, were available for 
work, and were actively looking for a job in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.) The 
unemployment rate for people with a disability changed little in 2024 at 7.5 percent, while 
the rate for people without a disability increased by 0.3 percentage point to 3.8 percent.
(See tables A and 1.)

Among people with a disability, the unemployment rates were the same for men and women in 
2024 (7.5 percent). These rates were little different from a year earlier. Among the major
race and ethnicity groups, the jobless rates for people who are White, Black or African 
American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino showed little change over the year. As is the case
among people without a disability, the jobless rates for those with a disability were higher
among people who are Black or African American (10.7 percent) and Hispanic or Latino 
(9.4 percent) than among people who are White (6.9 percent) and Asian (6.3 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 2024, 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. In 2024, about 3 percent of those with a disability
wanted a job, lower than about 6 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 2024. 
(See table 5.)

Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are based on annual average data obtained from  
the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. 
Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of 
about 60,000 eligible households that provides information on the labor force 
status, demographics, and other characteristics of the nation's civilian
noninstitutional population age 16 and over.
   
   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/documentation.htm#reliability.

   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 old or 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 2017 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.