Disabled People Can Help Ease the Shortage of Workers
In a tight labor market, overlooking those who can work but face obstacles comes at a steep cost to the economy.
It’s a hot labor market.
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
At a time when some 10 million US jobs are unfilled, Covid-19 still lingers and the workforce is aging at an alarming rate, it’s never been more urgent for employers to strengthen their resolve to hire and retain workers with disabilities. Progress is happening, with the latest monthly jobs report showing that the employment rate is at a high of 22% among disabled adults. Still, that is only about one-third of the national average. Far too often, the potential contributions from the disabled are undervalued and underutilized. In a tight labor market like the one we have now, that comes at a steep cost to the economy.
The vast majority who are not in the labor force have worked in the past, and if given the opportunity and proper support, many would do so again. The labor force with a disability increased by more than one million people over the past three years to nearly 8 million. Long Covid, which the Department of Health and Human Services has legally designated a disability, partly accounts for the increase. So does the aging of the workforce since the onset of disabilities is far more common at older ages. The pandemic has shown how hard it is to bring older workers back after they have left and how that contributes to labor shortages.