2016 Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics — 2017-06-21

In 2016, 17.9 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.3 percent. The employment-population ratio for both persons with and without a disability increased from 2015 to 2016 (by 0.4 percentage point for persons with a disability and by 0.3 percentage point for persons with no disability). The unemployment rate for persons with a disability, at 10.5 percent, was little changed from the previous year, while the rate for those without a disability declined to 4.6 percent. The data on persons with a disability are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides statistics on employment and unemployment in the United States. The collection of data on persons with a disability is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.