Less than half of disabled people under the age of 65 are working
Only 42.5 percent of disabled people aged 15–64 years were employed in the June 2021 quarter, compared with 78.9 percent of non-disabled people in the same age group, Stats NZ said today.
“This shows that disabled people are under-represented in the workforce,” wellbeing and housing statistics manager Dr Claire Bretherton said.
“Employment can play an important role in a person’s wellbeing, not only providing income, but also social connection and a sense of purpose.”
The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) uses the Washington Group Short Set of questions (WGSS) to identify people who are more likely to experience restricted participation in society because of difficulties they have performing basic functional activities. These activities are seeing, hearing, walking or climbing stairs, remembering or concentrating, self-care, and communicating. These questions allow outcomes to be compared for disabled and non-disabled people.
The incidence of disability increases with age, which means older people are disproportionately represented in disability data. People aged 65 years and over are also less likely to participate in the labour market, and often have quite different outcomes to younger people. Therefore, we have restricted the data in this release to the 15–64-year age group. The data is also available for the total population aged 15 years and over, see Labour market statistics (disability): June 2021 quarter.
The term ‘gap’ is used to refer to the differences between disabled and non-disabled people. The employment gap, which is the difference in employment rates, was 36.4 percentage points in the June 2021 quarter.
“Stats NZ has been collecting data on the labour market outcomes of disabled people in the HLFS since 2017. In that time, there has not been a significant improvement in the employment gap,” Dr Bretherton said.
The unemployment gap in the June 2021 quarter was 5.6 percentage points, with disabled 15–64-year-olds more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people in the same age group.
Disabled people also tended to have lower earnings than non-disabled people. Median weekly earnings from wages and salaries for disabled people aged 15–64 years was $962, compared with $1,106 for non-disabled people in the same age group, a difference of $144 per week.
The weekly pay disparity is partly explained by variation in hours. Disabled people aged 15–64 years were more likely than non-disabled people in the same age group to be in part-time work (28.7 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively). However, a pay gap still exists when comparing hourly earnings, with disabled people earning, on average, a lower hourly rate. The median hourly earnings from wages and salaries for disabled people was $25.22, compared with $27.81 for non-disabled people.
“Disabled people were also more likely to rate their job security poorly,” Dr Bretherton said.
Almost 1 in 10 (9.5 percent) of employed disabled people aged 15–64 years felt they had a high or almost certain chance of losing their job or business in the next 12 months. This was more than double the rate for non-disabled people in the same age group (4.0 percent).
Text alternative for Labour market summary by disability status, people aged 15–64 years, June 2021 quarter
Labour force participation rate is labour force divided by working-age population: 47.0 percent disabled and 82.1 percent non-disabled, with a gap of 35.1 percentage points. Employment rate is employed divided by working-age population: 42.5 percent disabled and 78.9 percent non-disabled, with a gap of 36.4 percentage points. Unemployment rate is unemployed divided by labour force: 9.6 percent disabled and 4.0 percent non-disabled, with a gap of 5.6 percentage points. Underutilisation rate is total underutilised divided by extended labour force: 21.8 percent disabled and 10.3 percent non-disabled, with a gap of 11.5 percentage points. Median weekly income from wages and salaries: $962 for disabled and $1,106 for non-disabled, with a gap of $144.
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