Labor force participation rate 24.2 percent for people with a disability in 2023

Each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month raises awareness of disability employment issues. During 2023, 24.2 percent of people with a disability either were employed or were looking for work. In contrast, the labor force participation rate for people without a disability was 68.1 percent.

Among people with a disability, the highest labor force participation rate was for those ages 25 to 34 years, at 57.0 percent. The labor force participation rate for those 35 to 44 years was 48.0 percent, and the rate gradually decreased with age thereafter. The labor force participation rate for people 65 years and older with a disability was 8.3 percent or roughly one-third the rate of those without a disability (23.6 percent).

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics — 2023.” For more statistics on people with a disability, see the Disability section of our Demographic Characteristics page. The labor force participation rate is the labor force (the sum of the employed and the unemployed) as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population. The unemployed category consists of people who did not work for pay, actively sought employment or were waiting to be recalled from a temporary layoff and could have started a job if they received an offer. The civilian noninstitutional population does not include people in the military or those in institutions.