Solid Economic Gains Include Job Growth for Americans with Disabilities

The December National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) Report from the Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire, showed very exciting statistics for people with disabilities. More Americans with disabilities are earning a paycheck for a third consecutive month. With innovative programs to help the transition of students from school to career, this has allowed people with disabilities to have steadier income. Additionally, the labor force participation rate, or the percentage of the population that is working or actively looking for work, has increased from 29.1 percent in December 2013 to 31.7 percent for people with disabilities. This is the first time since 2013 that there has been an increase in labor participation. The report also showed that the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities has also increased form 25.2 percent at the end of 2013 to 27.8 percent at the end of 2014. The nTIDE Report has uncovered great news for people with disabilities in the area of employment for the past year, with hopes of continued growth.