Section 2 Employment
(13 tables in this section)This section presents statistics on employment and full-time, year-round employment. For both categories of employment, data are presented concerning those with disabilities, those without disabilities, and the employment gap (difference in employment rate) between these two populations. The principal source of these data is the U.S. Census Bureau, specifically the American Community Survey.
Table 2.1 - Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 19,048,426 individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 6,368,644 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 33.4 percent. In contrast, of the 172,089,634 individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 125,358,735 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 72.8 percent. The employment rate for people with disabilities was highest in North Dakota (54.0 percent) and lowest in the Kentucky (25.7 percent)
Table 2.2 - Civilians without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 19,048,426 individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 6,368,644 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 33.4 percent. In contrast, of the 172,089,634 individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 125,358,735 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 72.8 percent. The employment rate for people with disabilities was highest in North Dakota (54.0 percent) and lowest in the Kentucky (25.7 percent)
Table 2.3 - Civilians with Hearing Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 3,924,360 individuals with hearing disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 1,928,750 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 49.1 percent. The employment rate for people with hearing disabilities was highest in Wyoming (72.5 percent) and North Dakota (72.2 percent) and lowest in West Virginia (36.9 percent).
Table 2.4 - Civilians with Vision Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 3,209,067 individuals with vision disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 1,194,184 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 37.2 percent. The employment rate for people with vision disabilities was highest in Nebraska (54.4 percent) and lowest in the District of Columbia (22.1 percent).
Table 2.5 - Civilians with Cognitive Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 7,943,002 individuals with cognitive disabilities ages
18 to 64 years living in the community, 1,855,059 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 23.4 percent. The employment rate for people with cognitive disabilities was highest in North Dakota (43.8 percent) and lowest in the Kentucky (16.9 percent).
Table 2.6 - Civilians with Ambulatory Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 9,856,708 individuals with ambulatory disabilities ages
18 to 64 years living in the community, 2,405,715 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 24.4 percent. The employment rate for people with ambulatory disabilities was highest in North Dakota (41.6 percent) and lowest in Kentucky (18.0 percent).
Table 2.7 - Civilians with Self-Care Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 3,444,202 individuals with self-care disabilities ages
18 to 64 years living in the community, 563,110 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 16.3 percent. The employment rate for people with ambulatory disabilities was highest in South Dakota (28.6 percent) and lowest in District of Columbia (8.1 percent).
Table 2.8 - Civilians with Independent Living Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 6,648,058 individuals with independent living disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 1,051,918 individuals were employed—an employment rate of 15.8 percent. The employment rate for people with independent living disabilities was highest in Minnesota (31.2 percent) and lowest in Kentucky (9.0 percent).
Table 2.9 - Civilians Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States, by Disability Status: 2010
In 2010, the employment rate for individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 33.4 percent, while the employment rate for individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 72.8 percent—an employment gap of 39.4 percentage points. The employment gap was greatest in the Maine (48.9 percentage points) and smallest in Wyoming (27.7 percentage points).
Table 2.10 - Change in Employment Gap—Civilians Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States, by Disability Status: 2009 to 2010
In 2010, the employment gap between individuals with and without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 39.4 percent, while the comparable measure was 39.1 in 2009.
Table 2.11 - Full-Time, Year-Round—Civilians with Disabilities Ages 16 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
In 2010, of the 19,048,426 individuals with disabilities ages 16 to 64 years living in the community, 3,834,727 individuals were employed fulltime, year-round—a full-time, year-round employment rate of 20.1 percent. In contrast, of the 172,089,634 individuals without disabilities ages 16 to 64 years living in the community, 88,683,091 individuals were employed full-time, year-round—a full-time, year-round employment rate of 51.5 percent. The full-time, year-round employment rate for people with disabilities was highest in North Dakota (32.1 percent) and lowest in Maine (15.2 percent).
Table 2.12 - Full-Time, Year-Round—Civilians without Disabilities Ages 16 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2010
Table 2.13 - Full-Time, Year-Round Gap—Civilians Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States, by Disability Status: 2010
In 2010, the full-time, year-round employment rate for individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 20.1 percent, while the full-time, year-round employment rate for individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 51.5 percent—a full-time, year-round employment gap of 31.4 percentage points. The full-time, year-round employment gap was greatest in the Maine (38.8 percentage points) and smallest in Utah (24.1 percentage points).
American Community Survey (ACS)—The ACS is a large, continuous demographic survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that will provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America’s communities every year. Annual and multi-year estimates of population and housing data are generated for small areas, including tracts and population subgroups. This information is collected by mailing questionnaires to a sample of addresses.
Disability Status (ACS)—The U.S. Census Bureau used six questions to identify persons with disabilities. A response of “yes” to any one of the questions indicates that the person in question has a disability. However, the cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living related questions are not used to identify disability in individuals less than 5 years old, and the independent living related question is not used to identify disability in individuals less than 18 years old.
Employment Gap—The difference between the total number of individuals employed and the number of individuals employed of a certain population.
Employment Status (ACS)—In the ACS, individuals were asked a series of questions designed to identify their status. Based on the answers, individuals were classified into one of five groups: (1) people who worked at any time during the reference week; (2) people on temporary layoff who were available for work; (3) people who did not work during the reference week but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent (excluding layoff); (4) people who did not work during the reference week, but who were looking for work during the last four weeks and were available for work during the reference week; and (5) people not in the labor force. The employment status data shown in American Community Survey tabulations relate to people 16 or more years old.
Full-Time, Year-Round Workers (ACS)—The ACS defines full-time, year-round workers as “all people 16 years old and over who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the past 12 months.”