nTIDE September 2017 Jobs Report: Economic Recovery Extends to 18 Months for Americans with Disabilities
Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire release nTIDE Report – Monthly Update
East Hanover, NJ –October 6, 2017. Americans with disabilities continue to close in on pre-recession employment levels with yet another month of strong job numbers, 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). This extends the record trend to 18 consecutive months for this population. The process of recovering from disabling injuries often hinders people of working age from returning to work. Many inpatient rehabilitation facilities do not offer employment-oriented services, and after discharge, these services are fragmented or nonexistent. To help individuals stay in the workplace, researchers are looking at the impact of incorporating access to vocational counseling and resources into the medical rehabilitation process.
In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, October 6 , the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities increased from 28.0 percent in September 2016 to 30.4 percent in September 2017 (up 8.6 percent; 2.4 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also increased from 73.0 percent in September 2016 to 73.8 percent in September 2017 (up 1.1 percent; 0.8 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).
”In spite of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, which were predicted to slow job growth, the proportion of people with disabilities working continued to improve for the eighteenth consecutive month,” according to John O’Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. “This growth is positive, and may indicate that people with disabilities are closing in on their pre-Great Recession employment levels.”
The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities increased from 31.0 percent in September 2016 to 33.1 percent in September 2017 (up 6.8 percent; 2.1 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate slightly increased from 76.5 percent in September 2016 to 76.9 percent in September 2017 (up 0.5 percent; 0.4 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working or actively looking for work.
“Although these numbers are very encouraging, full recovery to pre-Great Recession employment levels is still on the horizon, said Andrew Houtenville, PhD, associate professor of economics at UNH and research director of the Institute on Disability. “If we look back to September 2009, which was the first month that the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting disability statistics, the employment-to-population ratio was 32.7 percent for people with disabilities. Keep in mind that this followed the major job loss months of February and August of 2009, so the employment-to-population ratio prior to the recession was probably well above this percentage,” he noted.
One way to expand employment for people with disabilities is to institute processes that facilitate returning to work. One promising strategy is early intervention during inpatient rehabilitation. “Many inpatients have an excellent chance of returning to work when they engage with vocational support services soon after injury,” said Dr. O’Neill, “and maintain that connection through outpatient rehabilitation.” Dr. O’Neill is lead investigator for a pilot project underway at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation that is helping patients return to work after spinal cord injury. “Employment rates remain extremely low for individuals with spinal cord injury,” he said, “despite advances in rehabilitative care.”
In its first year, this project, funded by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, has exceeded expectations. Of the 51 newly injured individuals who enrolled, 15 have returned to work and 14 have actively engaged with the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services to plan their return to the workplace. Mary Lea West, a full-time vocational resource facilitator, meets with patients during their stay and follows up with them after discharge, coordinating vocational rehabilitation services and addressing needs for assistive technology and accommodations.
The replication of this model would have the potential to return large numbers individuals with disabilities to work, according to Dr. O’Neill. “The opportunity is there,” he asserted. “In partnership with such stakeholders as public and provide insurers, agencies for workforce development, and trade organizations, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals can function as a hub for effective return to work/stay at work programs.”
In September 2017, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,798,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.3 percent of the total 145,033,000 workers in the U.S.
The next nTIDE will be issued on Friday, November 3, 2017.
Join our nTIDE Lunch & Learn series today, October 6, at 12:00pm Eastern. 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. Meredith L. Dedona of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability and Employment Policy, will join Drs. Houtenville and O’Neill, and Denise Rozell, policy strategist at AUCD, to discuss today’s findings. You can join live, or watch the recordings at: www.ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.
NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). NTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (9ORT5022 and 90RT5017) and Kessler Foundation.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit www.KesslerFoundation.org.
About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit www.ResearchonDisability.org.
For more information, or to interview an expert, contact:
Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, [email protected]
