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The employment–population ratio—the percentage of the population that is employed—for people with a disability was 19.1 percent in 2021. That was an increase of 1.2 percentage points from 2020. The ratio for those without a disability, at 63.7 percent in 2021, increased by 1.9 percentage points over the year. Data for both groups reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market.
Year | People with a disability | People with no disability |
---|---|---|
2009 |
19.2% | 64.5% |
2010 |
18.6 | 63.5 |
2011 |
17.8 | 63.6 |
2012 |
17.8 | 63.9 |
2013 |
17.6 | 64.0 |
2014 |
17.1 | 64.6 |
2015 |
17.5 | 65.0 |
2016 |
17.9 | 65.3 |
2017 |
18.7 | 65.7 |
2018 |
19.1 | 65.9 |
2019 |
19.3 | 66.3 |
2020 |
17.9 | 61.8 |
2021 |
19.1 | 63.7 |
The lower ratio among people with a disability reflects, in part, the older age profile of people with a disability; older people are less likely to be employed regardless of disability status.
Disability status | Private industries | Government | Self-employed, unincorporated |
---|---|---|---|
People with a disability |
76.5% | 13.9% | 9.6% |
People with no disability |
80.0 | 13.6 | 6.4 |
A larger share of workers with a disability were self-employed in 2021 than were those with no disability (9.6 percent versus 6.4 percent). In contrast, a smaller share of workers with a disability were private wage and salary workers (76.5 percent) than were those without a disability (80.0 percent). The proportion employed in government was about the same for people with a disability (13.9 percent) and people without a disability (13.6 percent).
These data are from the Current Population Survey. Data are for people in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. To learn more, see “Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics – 2021.”
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 19.1 percent of people with a disability were employed in 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/19-1-percent-of-people-with-a-disability-were-employed-in-2021.htm (visited October 31, 2024).