Solid Start for Employment in New Year for Americans with Disabilities

nTIDE January 2017 Jobs Report: Solid Start to New Year for Americans with Disabilities Kessler Foundation & University of New Hampshire release nTIDE Report – Monthly Update DURHAM, NH – Momentum carried employment gains into the new year, extending the longest upward trend for Americans with disabilities since the Great Recession, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment – Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). In transition programs for jobseekers with disabilities, a multi-level approach to job training can improve employment outcomes. Developing the placement skills of disability service providers, as well as the job skills of the individuals they serve, creates a sustainable framework for optimal transitions to the workplace.

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, February 3, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities increased from 26.6 percent in January 2016 to 27.1 percent in January 2017 (up 1.9 percent; 0.5 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also increased from 71.9 percent in January 2016 to 72.4 percent in January 2017 (up 0.7 percent; 0.5 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). “The proportion of people with disabilities working continues to improve,” according to John O’Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. “Ten consecutive months of employment growth is very encouraging and shows people with disabilities are striving to work as they move toward pre-Great Recession employment levels,” he added. Read more >

SOURCE: Press Release