New federal data shows a higher percentage of people with disabilities were in the workforce in 2022. (Thinkstock)
The number of people with disabilities nationwide who are employed is at its highest level since federal officials began tracking.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says 22.5% of people with disabilities were employed in 2023. That’s an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the previous year and is the largest since the agency began collecting data on disability employment in 2008.
The findings come from an annual report released this month that is based on information collected last year through the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of about 60,000 households about employment and unemployment in the U.S.
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Despite progress, the employment rate of people with disabilities was approximately one-third that of the general population and unemployment rates remained much higher for people with disabilities compared to others, regardless of their level of disability. education.
“Across all age groups, people with disabilities were significantly less likely to be employed than those without disabilities,” the Department of Labor concluded.
The data shows that people with disabilities were almost twice as likely as others to work part-time and a higher percentage of these people were self-employed. They were also more commonly employed in service occupations and were “much less likely” to work in managerial and professional positions.
Overall, about three-quarters of people with disabilities were considered “not in the labor force,” the vast majority of whom did not want a job.
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