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The downshift in the September job numbers sparks concerns about employment prospects for Americans with and without disabilities, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment – Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). The declines in the economic indicators reflect the impact of the COVID pandemic on the ability of workers to stay engaged in the labor market.
nTIDE COVID Update (month-to-month comparison)
In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 28.8 percent in August to 28.3 percent in September (down 1.7 percent or 0.5 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 69.7 percent in August to 70 percent in September (up 0.4 percent or 0.3 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).
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“August’s modest gains in the employment-to-population ratio for people with and without disabilities have been lost due to the continued effects of COVID-19,” said John O’Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. “And for next month’s nTIDE report,” he added, “we are likely to see these declines continue as more workers move from furlough to termination.”
The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.6 percent in August to 32.7 percent in September 2020 (down 2.7 percent or 0.9 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 76.1 percent in August to 75.7 percent in September 2020 (down 0.5 percent or 0.4 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working, not working and on temporary layoff, or not working and actively looking for work.
“The labor force participation rate is a bell-weather of the long-term employment prospects of people with disabilities,” cautioned economist Andrew Houtenville, PhD, research director of the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability. “September’s decline in this indicator suggests that people with disabilities are leaving the labor market—they are no longer on furlough or actively looking for work. As the pandemic continues and more workers are permanently let go, we are likely to see further declines in the labor force participation rate.”
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