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Kessler Foundation: People with disabilities reached new employment levels in 2022, outperforming their peers without disabilities

According to a new report by the Kessler Foundation and the  University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD), 2022 was “a remarkable and historic time for the employment of people with disabilities.”

The group released their National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) 2022 Year-End Special Edition, which, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Reports, indicate that people with disabilities reached new employment levels in 2022, outperforming their peers without disabilities.

According to the report:

Employment trends in 2022 built upon the 2021 recovery from the pandemic recession—where people with disabilities reached beyond pre-COVID-19 levels and even pre-Great Recession levels. These trends are in stark contrast to those of their working counterparts without disabilities who have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.

The average monthly employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 31.3 percent in 2021 to 34.8 percent in 2022, which was also higher than the 29.1 percent recorded in 2020 (during the height of the pandemic) and 30.9 percent recorded in 2019 (prior to the pandemic).

In contrast, for people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the employment-to-population ratio increased from 72.5 percent in 2021 to 74.4 percent in 2022, which was higher than the 70.0 percent recorded in 2020 but not above the 74.6 percent in 2019.

MDSC and our Philip Donahue Your Next Star Employment Center are proud to be part of the national movement to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities through initiatives like the Your Next Star Academy and Your Next Star Entrepreneurship Academy.