Despite last quarter losses, 2015 was overall a good year for people with disabilities in the workplace. For people with disabilities, two key job market indicators improved in 2015. The average monthly employment-to-population ratio increased from 26.0 percent in 2014 to 27.0 percent in 2015, breaking a downward trend dating back to 2009, the first year that annual comparisons became available for people with disabilities. In 2015, the average monthly labor force participation rate for people with disabilities was 30.5 percent, up from 30.2 percent in 2014, breaking the downward trend for this indicator, which dates back to 2009. This is the first time that a rise in this rate was accompanied by a decline for people without disabilities (from 76.2% to 76.1%).
You can learn more about employment in 2015 with the National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) Year in Review. Beginning in March, in addition to the monthly nTIDE press releases you’ll be able to dive more deeply into the statistics and trends during their new monthly Lunch & Learn series.
