QUESTION: How many people with disabilities are working?
The statistics vary depending on the source data and the definition of disability.
The Census 2000, Census 2000 Summary File #3, and other Census 2000 reports are frequently referenced sources for disability statistics. For example, a publication from the U.S. Census Bureau, Disability Status 2000: Census 2000 Brief (March 2003) (C2KBR-17), along with Census 2000 Summary File #3 (March 2003) report the following statistics about the employment of people with disabilities:
The total number of people with disabilities aged 16-64 is 33,153,211.
Of those, the total number employed is 18,525,862.
The percent of people with disabilities aged 16-64 employed is 55.8%.
Of the 18.6 million people with disabilities employed aged 16-64, 60.1% of men with disabilities are employed, and 51.4% of women with disabilities are employed.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is working with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the Department of Labor to develop tools for collecting current and more detailed employment data about people with disabilities using the Current Population Survey. More information on this initiative is available on ODEP's Web site.
Additional statistical information about persons with disabilities can be obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau Web site, or by phone at 301-457-3242. And more sources of disability statistics can be found online at Disability.gov.
