Join us for the next nTIDE Lunch & Learn Webinar, featuring guest presenters Meg O’Connell, CEO & Founder of Global Disability Inclusion and Wendi Safstrom, President of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation.
nTIDE July 2022 Jobs Report: Employment remains high for people with disabilities despite July dip
National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) – Issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire
August 5, 2022 – Employment remained high in July for people with disabilities, despite a dip in their economic indicators, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment – Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). NTIDE experts caution that the gains achieved by people with disabilities may be tempered as counter-inflationary measures continue in the coming months.
Month-to-Month nTIDE Numbers (comparing June 2022 to July 2022)
This graphic compares the economic indicators for June 2022 and July 2022, showing slight decreases in the employment-to-population ratio and labor force participation rate for people with disabilities, while these indicators held steady for people without disabilities.
In the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released today, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) decreased from 34.9 percent in June 2022 to 34.4 percent in July 2022 (down 1.4 percent or 0.5 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the employment-to-population ratio increased from 74.8 percent in June 2022 to 75.0 percent in July 2022 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).
“While the dip in the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities is concerning,” said John O’Neill, PhD, director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation, “it still remains above pre-COVID levels and the historic high of 2008, a trend that we’ve seen for 11 months. These data suggest that sampling error may be a factor for this population.”
Findings were similar for July’s labor force participation rate. For people with disabilities (ages 16-64), the labor force participation rate decreased from 38.1 percent in June 2022 to 37.3 percent in July 2022 (down 2.1 percent or 0.8 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate increased from 77.6 percent in June 2022 to 77.8 percent in July 2022 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working, not working and on temporary layoff, or not working and actively looking for work.
“Even though people with disabilities largely remained in the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic and their employment rebounded faster and stronger, we will be looking ahead to the coming recession to see how they fare, remarked Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics and the research director of the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.
Year-to-Year nTIDE Numbers (Comparing July 2021 to July 2022)
This graphic compares the economic indicators for July 2021 and July 2022, showing increases for people with and without disabilities.
The employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 30.8 percent in July 2021 to 34.4 percent in July 2022 (up 11.7 percent or 3.6 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the employment-to-population ratio also increased from 73.4 percent in July 2021 to 75 percent in July 2022 (up 2.2 percent or 1.6 percentage points).
Similarly, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 35.2 percent in July 2021 to 37.3 percent in July 2022 (up 6 percent or 2.1 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the labor force participation rate also increased from 77.6 percent in July 2021 to 77.8 percent in July 2022 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points).
In July 2022, among workers ages 16-64, the 5,618,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.8 percent of the total 148,733,000 workers in the U.S.
Ask Questions about Disability and Employment
Each nTIDE release is followed by an nTIDE Lunch & Learn online webinar. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. On August 5 at 12:00 pm Eastern, Meg O’Connell, CEO and founder of Global Disability Inclusion, and Wendi Safstrom, president of SHRM Foundation, join Drs. Houtenville and O’Neill, and Denise Rozell, Policy Strategist at Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Join our Lunch & Learns live or visit the nTIDE archives at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.
nTIDE COVID Update
Join us on August 19, at 12:00 pm Eastern for the mid-month COVID update – an in-depth comparison of the latest unemployment numbers for people with and without disabilities. Register at: COVID-19 Updates - 2022 | Center for Research on Disability.