Facts About Disability

Number of People with Disabilities 

·         The figures (2001) from the U.S. Census Bureau show there are now 52.6 (19.7%) million Americans have some level of disability.  33.0 million people (12.3%) have a severe disability

Employers Reactions to Workers with Disabilities 

Over 900 managers were interviewed by the Harris Poll and they had this to say about people with disabilities who worked for them: 

·        Nineteen out of twenty managers give employees with disabilities a “good” or “excellent” rating on their job performance.  They say employees with disabilities work as hard or harder than their employees who do not have disabilities.

·        Thirty-nine percent of line managers rate employees with disabilities as better on attendance and punctuality than employees without disabilities, and 40% rate them about the same.

·        The average cost of hiring people with disabilities is the same as hiring a person without a disability, according to three-quarters of the employers surveyed.

·        However, only 43% of EEO officers say that their companies have hired people with disabilities.

·        Three out of every four managers say that people with disabilities often encounter discrimination from employers.

Cost of Accommodation 

According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a service of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities: 

·         20% -      No cost

·         51% -      Between $1 and $500

·         11% -      Between $501 and $1000

·         3% -        Between $1001 and $1500

·         3% -        Between $1501 and $2000

·         8% -        Between $2001 and $2500

·         4% -        Greater than $5000

The Average cost of a job accommodation for a person with a disability is $200. 

For every dollar an employer spends for a disability –related job accommodation, the company saves $34 (e.g., workers compensation and other insurance savings, training of new employees, increased productivity.)

Economics of Disability 

Each year, the federal government spends 40 times more money to support people with disabilities NOT working than it spends to assist them to prepare for or find employment.  The lack of labor force participation of people with disabilities costs our nation’s economy over $200 billion annually.

Education

High School dropout rates:

22% of students with a disability do not graduate high school. 

9% of students without a disability do not graduate. 

College graduation rates:

12% of students with a disability  graduate

23% of students with no disability graduate