Disabled people keen to work

Disabled people keen to work

19 December 2014

Almost two-thirds of disabled adults aged under 65 are employed, and most of the remainder would like to have jobs, according to a new report released by Statistics New Zealand.

Disability and the labour market: Findings from the 2013 Disability Survey shows that 61 percent of disabled people aged 15 to 64 were working in paid jobs in 2013, while 74 percent of those who weren’t employed said they would like to work if a job was available.

Disabled adults work in a wide range of occupations and industries. “Over one-third of disabled adults worked in either managerial or professional jobs, while many worked in physically demanding occupations such as labouring or trades jobs,” labour market and households manager Diane Ramsay said.

The report shows disabled adults tend to fare worse in the labour market than non-disabled adults. Disabled adults were less likely to be employed and had higher rates of unemployment. Those who had jobs were more likely to work in low-skilled occupations and tended to have lower incomes than non-disabled adults. Despite this, over half those who were employed experienced high levels of job satisfaction. “We also know that disabled workers are more likely to work part-time, and 1 in 10 aged under 65 said that a condition or health problem limited the amount of time they could spend working,” Ms Ramsay said.

“Many disabled people face difficulties in looking for jobs or are limited in the amount or type of work they can do. Interestingly, we found that relatively few disabled workers aged under 65 needed special modifications or equipment in their workplace”.

Around 6 in 10 disabled people aged 15 to 64 and without jobs said they were limited in the kind of work they could do, while a similar proportion said they were limited in the amount of work they could do.

Labour market outcomes for disabled people vary considerably according to factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, and type of impairment. For example, people with hearing or vision impairments tend to face fewer limitations and difficulties and have better labour market outcomes than people with mobility or agility impairments.

This report uses information from the 2013 Disability Survey.

Read Disability and the labour market: Findings from the 2013 Disability Survey for more results.

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