Category: Social Issues

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

Media dis&dat

Sometimes serendipitous discoveries are made via the posts from other bloggers. A post by a fellow librarian, brought the site, Media dis&dat to my attention. I found it an interesting site and I plan to visit it often.

The site is a  database of news and information about people with disabilities and disability issues.  The topics are wide-ranging and many are  human interest stories such as this one about  Ecuador’s vice president who is a paraplegic and a passionate advocate for disability rights.

It can be easy to overlook the tiny South American nation of Ecuador. Yet Ecuador stands out as one of the region’s most advanced countries for disabled people. A major force behind this effort is Lenin Moreno, Ecuador’s vice president. A paraplegic, Moreno is one of the world’s highest-ranking leaders using a wheelchair.

To read the full story:  Ecuador’s paraplegic Vice President Lenin Moreno a major force for disability rights