For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, February 24, 2021 		          USDL-21-0316 

Technical information:  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps 
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


          PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS -- 2020


In 2020, 17.9 percent of persons with a disability were employed, down from 19.3 percent
in 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. For persons without a
disability, 61.8 percent were employed in 2020, down from 66.3 percent in the prior
year. The unemployment rates for persons with and without a disability both increased
from 2019 to 2020, to 12.6 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. Data on both groups
for 2020 reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain
it.

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. Collection of data on persons with a
disability is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy. For more information, see the Technical Note in this news release.

Highlights from the 2020 data:

  --Half of all persons with a disability were age 65 and over, about three times larger
    than the share for those with no disability. (See table 1.)

  --Across all age groups, persons with disabilities were much less likely to be employed
    than those with no disabilities. (See table 1.)

  --Across all educational attainment groups, unemployment rates for persons with a
    disability were higher than those for persons without a disability. (See table 1.)

  --In 2020, 29 percent of workers with a disability were employed part time, compared
    with 16 percent for those with no disability. (See table 2.)

  --Employed persons with a disability were more likely to be self-employed than those
    with no disability. (See table 4.)

Demographic characteristics

Persons with a disability tend to be older than persons with no disability, reflecting
the increased incidence of disability with age. In 2020, half of persons with a disability
were age 65 and older, compared with 17 percent of those with no disability. Overall, women
were somewhat more likely to have a disability than men, partly reflecting the greater life
expectancy of women. In 2020, the prevalence of disability continued to be higher for Blacks
and Whites than for Hispanics and Asians. (See table 1.)

Employment

The employment-population ratio--that is, the percent of the population that is employed--for
persons with a disability decreased from 19.3 percent in 2019 to 17.9 percent in 2020. The
ratio for those without a disability, at 61.8 percent, also decreased over the year. The lower
ratio among persons with a disability reflects, in part, the older age profile of persons with
a disability; older workers are less likely to be employed, regardless of disability status.
However, across all age groups, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed 
than those with no disability. (See tables A and 1.)

Among persons ages 16 to 64, the employment-population ratios fell in 2020 for both persons
with a disability and persons without a disability, to 29.1 percent and 70.0 percent,
respectively. The ratios for persons 65 and older with a disability (6.9 percent) and without
a disability (22.2 percent) both decreased over the year. (See table A.)

Persons with a disability are less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree or higher
than those with no disability. Among both groups, those who had attained higher levels of
education were more likely to be employed than those who had attained less education. Across
all levels of education in 2020, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed
than were their counterparts with no disability. (Educational attainment data are presented
for those age 25 and over.) (See table 1.)

Workers with a disability were more likely to be employed part time than those with no
disability. Among workers with a disability, 29 percent usually worked part time in 2020,
compared with 16 percent of those without a disability. The proportion of workers with a
disability who worked part time for economic reasons was higher than their counterparts without
a disability (6 percent, compared with 5 percent). These individuals were working part time
because their hours had been reduced or because they were not able to find a full-time job.
(See table 2.)

In 2020, persons with a disability were more likely to work in service occupations than those
with no disability (18.0 percent, compared with 15.4 percent). Workers with a disability were
also more likely than those with no disability to work in production, transportation, and
material moving occupations (14.9 percent, compared with 12.2 percent). Persons with a
disability were less likely to work in management, professional, and related occupations than
those without a disability (36.1 percent, compared with 43.3 percent). (See table 3.)

The proportion of persons employed in government was slightly higher for persons with a
disability than for persons without a disability in 2020 (14.6 percent, compared with 13.9
percent). A smaller share of workers with a disability were employed as private wage and
salary workers (75.1 percent) than those without a disability (79.9 percent). In contrast,
a larger share of workers with a disability were self-employed in 2020 than were those with
no disability (10.3 percent versus 6.1 percent). (See table 4.)

Unemployment

The unemployment rate for persons with a disability, at 12.6 percent in 2020, increased by
5.3 percentage points from the previous year. Their jobless rate continued to be much higher
than the rate for those without a disability. (Unemployed persons are those who did not have
a job, were available for work, and were actively looking for a job in the 4 weeks preceding
the survey.) The unemployment rate for persons without a disability increased by 4.4 percentage
points to 7.9 percent in 2020. (See tables A and 1.)

In 2020, the unemployment rate for men with a disability (12.0 percent) was lower than the
rate for women with a disability (13.2 percent). The unemployment rates for both men and women
with a disability increased from 2019 to 2020. 

Among persons with a disability, the jobless rates for Hispanics (16.8 percent), Blacks (16.3
percent), and Asians (15.7 percent) were higher than the rate for Whites (11.6 percent) in
2020. These rates increased among all major race and ethnicity groups from 2019 to 2020. (See
table 1.)

Not in the labor force

Persons who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force. A large proportion
of persons with a disability--about 8 in 10--were not in the labor force in 2020, compared
with about 3 in 10 of those with no disability. In part, this reflects the older age profile
of persons with a disability; persons ages 65 and over are much less likely to participate
in the labor force than younger age groups. Across all age groups, however, persons with a
disability were more likely to be out of the labor force than those with no disability. (See
table 1.)

For persons with and without a disability, the vast majority of those not in the labor force
reported that they do not want a job. In 2020, 3 percent of those with a disability and 8 
percent of those without a disability wanted a job. Among those who do want a job, a subset 
are classified as marginally attached to the labor force. These individuals wanted and were
available to work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not
counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the
survey. (Persons marginally attached to the labor force include discouraged workers.) Less
than 1 percent of persons with a disability and about 2 percent of persons without a 
disability were marginally attached to the labor force in 2020. (See table 5.)

Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are based on annual average data obtained from  
the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. 
Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of 
about 60,000 eligible households that provides information on the labor force 
status, demographics, and other characteristics of the nation's civilian
noninstitutional population age 16 and over.
   
   Questions were added to the CPS in June 2008 to identify persons with a 
disability in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. The 
addition of these questions allowed the BLS to begin releasing monthly labor 
force data from the CPS for persons with a disability. The collection of these 
data is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment 
Policy.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired 
individuals upon request. Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 
(800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling 
error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is 
a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the true population values 
they represent. The component of this difference that occurs because samples 
differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is measured 
by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or
level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more 
than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling 
error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of 
confidence.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can 
occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the 
population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, 
inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and
errors made in the collection or processing of the data.

   Additional information about the reliability of data from the CPS and 
estimating standard errors is available at 
www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

   CPS estimates are controlled to population totals that are available by 
age, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity. These controls are developed by the 
Census Bureau and are based on complete population counts obtained in the 
decennial census. In the years between decennial censuses, they incorporate 
the latest information about population change (births, deaths, and net
international migration). As part of its annual update of population
estimates, the Census Bureau introduces adjustments to the total population
controls. The updated controls typically have a negligible impact on 
unemployment rates and other ratios. The estimates of the population of 
persons with a disability are not controlled to independent population totals 
of persons with a disability because such data are not available. Without 
independent population totals, sample-based estimates are more apt to vary 
from one time period to the next.  Information about population controls is 
available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

Disability questions and concepts

   The CPS uses a set of six questions to identify persons with disabilities. 
In the CPS, persons are classified as having a disability if there is a response 
of "yes" to any of these questions. The disability questions appear in the CPS 
in the following format:

   This month we want to learn about people who have physical, mental, or emotional
conditions that cause serious difficulty with their daily activities. Please answer
for household members who are 15 years old or over.

   --Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty 
     hearing?

   --Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty
     seeing even when wearing glasses?

   --Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does
     anyone have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or
     making decisions?

   --Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing
     stairs?

   --Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing?

   --Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does
     anyone have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a
     doctor's office or shopping?

   The CPS questions for identifying individuals with disabilities are only 
asked of household members who are age 15 and older. Each of the questions ask 
the respondent whether anyone in the household has the condition described, and 
if the respondent replies "yes," they are then asked to identify everyone in 
the household who has the condition. Labor force measures from the CPS are 
tabulated for persons age 16 and older. More information on the disability 
questions and the limitations of the CPS disability data is available on the 
BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability_faq.htm.

Other definitions

   Other definitions used in this release are described briefly below. 
Additional information on the concepts and methodology of the CPS is available 
at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

   Employed.  Employed persons are all those who, during the survey reference 
week, (a) did any work at all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own 
business, profession, or on their own farm; or (c) worked 15 hours or more as 
unpaid workers in a family member's business.  Persons who were temporarily 
absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor 
dispute, or another reason also are counted as employed.

   Unemployed.  Unemployed persons are those who had no employment during the 
reference week, were available for work at that time, and had made specific 
efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the 
reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they 
had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as 
unemployed.

   Civilian labor force.  The civilian labor force comprises all persons 
classified as employed or unemployed.

   Unemployment rate.  The unemployment rate represents the number of 
unemployed persons as a percent of the civilian labor force.

   Not in the labor force.  Persons not in the labor force include all those who 
are not classified as employed or unemployed. Information is collected on their 
desire for and availability to take a job at the time of the CPS interview, job 
search activity in the prior year, and reason for not looking in the 4-week 
period ending with the reference week. This group includes individuals marginally 
attached to the labor force, defined as persons not in the labor force who want 
and are available for a job and who have looked for work sometime in the past 12 
months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 
months). They are not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched 
for work in the prior 4 weeks. Within the marginally attached group are discouraged 
workers--persons who are not currently looking for work because they believe there 
are no jobs available or there are none for which they would qualify. The other 
persons marginally attached to the labor force group includes persons who want 
a job but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks for reasons such as family 
responsibilities or transportation problems.

   Part time for economic reasons.  Persons classified as at work part time for 
economic reasons, a measure sometimes referred to as involuntary part time, are 
those who gave an economic reason for working 1 to 34 hours during the reference 
week. Economic reasons include slack work or unfavorable business conditions, 
inability to find full-time work, and seasonal declines in demand. Those who 
usually work part time must also indicate that they want and are available for 
full-time work to be classified as part time for economic reasons.

   Occupation, industry, and class of worker.  The occupation, industry, and 
class of worker classifications for the employed relate to the job held in the 
survey reference week. Persons with two or more jobs are classified in the job 
at which they worked the greatest number of hours. Persons are classified using 
the 2018 Census occupational and 2017 Census industry classification systems. 
The class-of-worker breakdown assigns workers to the following categories: 
private and government wage and salary workers, self-employed workers, and 
unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers receive wages, salary, 
commissions, tips, or pay in kind from a private employer or from a government 
unit. Self-employed persons are those who work for profit or fees in their own 
business, profession, trade, or farm. Only the unincorporated self-employed are 
included in the self-employed category. Self-employed persons who respond that 
their businesses are incorporated are included among wage and salary workers. 
Unpaid family workers are persons working without pay for 15 hours a week or 
more on a farm or in a business operated by a family member in their household.