Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

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New monthly data series on the employment status of people with a disability

In June 2008, questions were added to the Current Population Survey (CPS) to identify persons with a disability in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. The addition of these questions allowed 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. Publication of CPS disability data began in February 2009 with the issuance of labor force data for January 2009. Explanatory materials are available on the frequently asked questions page. These materials provide information on comparisons with other data sources, variability of the data, and the types of data available. Additionally, links to historical data and alternate formats are located below.

In July 2009, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was 15.1 percent, compared with 9.5 percent for persons with no disability, not seasonally adjusted. The employment-population ratio for persons with a disability was 19.5 percent, compared with 65.0 percent for persons with no disability.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted (Numbers in thousands)

Employment status, sex, and age Persons with a disability Persons with no disability

June
2009 July
2009 June
2009 July
2009

TOTAL, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population
27,256 27,027 208,399 208,842

Civilian labor force
6,172 6,217 149,749 150,039

Percent of population in labor force
22.6 23.0 71.9 71.8

Employed
5,290 5,275 135,536 135,780

Employment-population ratio
19.4 19.5 65.0 65.0

Unemployed
882 942 14,212 14,259

Unemployment rate
14.3 15.1 9.5 9.5

Not in labor force
21,084 20,810 58,650 58,804

Men, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force
2,764 2,820 76,863 77,013

Percent of population in labor force
38.8 39.7 84.9 85.0

Employed
2,357 2,370 68,856 69,188

Employment-population ratio
33.1 33.3 76.1 76.3

Unemployed
407 450 8,007 7,825

Unemployment rate
14.7 16.0 10.4 10.2

Not in labor force
4,363 4,290 13,671 13,642

Women, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force
2,612 2,575 67,315 67,421

Percent of population in labor force
33.5 33.5 73.0 72.9

Employed
2,188 2,153 61,488 61,368

Employment-population ratio
28.0 28.0 66.7 66.4

Unemployed
424 422 5,827 6,054

Unemployment rate
16.2 16.4 8.7 9.0

Not in labor force
5,189 5,103 24,911 25,025

Both sexes, 65 years and over

Civilian labor force
796 821 5,571 5,604

Percent of population in labor force
6.5 6.7 21.7 21.8

Employed
745 752 5,192 5,224

Employment-population ratio
6.0 6.1 20.3 20.3

Unemployed
51 70 379 380

Unemployment rate
6.5 8.5 6.8 6.8

Not in labor force
11,531 11,417 20,069 20,137

CPS disability data, October 2008 forward

June-July, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
May-June, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
April-May, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
March-April, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
February-March, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
January-February, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
December 2008-January, 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
November-December, 2008 (HTML) (PDF)
October-November, 2008 (HTML) (PDF)

For more information about the new disability data, contact the Division of Labor Force Statistics at 202-691-6378 or by email.

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey