The employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities has never been better, according to a semi-monthly report issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.
The radio “jumped to a new all-time high, contrasting sharply with people without disabilities, whose ratio dropped slightly,” Director of the Kessler Foundation Center for Employment and Disability Research John O’Neill, PhD, stated in the report.
“Employment opportunities remain plentiful, and people with disabilities are rising to the occasion and filling these positions, which may be contributing to this trend,” he added.
Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report noted that the month-over-month employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities aged 16 to 64 increased from 37.3% in July to 37.9% in August. At the same time, the employment-to-population ratio of people without disabilities in that same age group decreased from 75.5% in July to 75.2% in August 2023.
Compared with the same month last year, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities aged 16 to 64 increased from 37.6% to 41.2%. For people without disabilities in that demographic, the year-over-year labor force participation rate of people without disabilities rose from 77.5% to 78.2%.
Proposed rule
The news comes as the Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to beef up efforts to prevent disability-based discrimination in healthcare. HHS on Thursday announced a proposed rule that seeks to strengthen efforts against disability-based discrimination. Specifically, the proposal would mandate that treatment decisions are not made based on preconceptions of a person’s disability.
“It’s 2023, yet for many Americans accessing basic health needs is still challenging. Some persons with disabilities may have to drive hours to get an accessible mammogram or receive the benefit and advancements of our healthcare system,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement announcing the proposal. “This historic proposed rule will advance justice for people with disabilities and help ensure they are not subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving funding from HHS just because they have a disability.”
