Census: Workers with Disabilities Have Significant Income Gap

The income gap for workers with disabilities is significant as shown by these Census Bureau figures.

  • People with disabilities are three times less likely to be employed and, when they are working, they’re earning 75 cents for each dollar others are paid.
  • Between 2008 and 2010, individuals with disabilities accounted for 6 percent of the workforce, according to data released this week from the U.S. Census.
  • Such workers were most often employed in service and administrative support roles. Positions as janitors or building cleaners, cashiers, dishwashers and in retail sales were among the most common cited.
  • For their labor, more than half of workers with disabilities earned less than $25,000 annually, the Census found.

“Even within the largest occupations, employed workers with disabilities, on average, earned less than similarly employed workers without disabilities,” said Jennifer Cheeseman Day, the assistant chief for employment characteristics at the Census Bureau.

To read the full piece visit: Disability Scoop

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Author: WINAHEAD

WINAHEAD is made up of representatives from thirty institutions. Our members are professionals employed by two- and four-year colleges and universities who work directly with students with disabilities to ensure equal access to higher education. WIN indicates the geographic area we represent: Western Iowa and Nebraska. AHEAD is our national parent organization, the Association on Higher Education and Disability.