Rising Unemployment Rate for People With Disabilities

Author: Allsup
Published: 2012/04/18 - Updated: 2024/03/28
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Informative
Topic: Disability Employment - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: People with disabilities experienced an unemployment rate nearly 74 percent higher than the rate for people with no disability. People with disabilities often face a much greater challenge in securing employment. Their health condition may make it difficult to continue to work for extended periods, or it worsens so they are forced out of the labor market entirely.

Introduction

Income at Risk: Unemployment Rate for People With Disabilities Back on the Rise, Allsup Finds - Unemployment Rate for People With Disabilities Spikes in First Quarter; Social Security Disability Applications Up Slightly From Same Time 2011.

Main Item

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities climbed back above 14 percent during the first quarter of 2012 after dropping significantly at the end of 2011, according to a study by Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

The Allsup Disability Study

Income at Risk shows that people with disabilities experienced an unemployment rate nearly 74 percent higher than the rate for people with no disabilities for the first quarter of 2012. Allsup has been conducting this quarterly study since the first quarter of 2009.

The unemployment rate averaged 14.6 percent for people with disabilities and 8.4 percent for people with no disabilities during the first quarter of 2012. This compares to 13.2 percent for people with disabilities and 8.1 percent for people with no disabilities during the fourth quarter of 2011. These figures are based on non-seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS also reported that 42.5 percent of individuals unemployed in March 2012 had been jobless for 27 weeks or more. This compares to 45.5 percent during March 2011.

"People with disabilities often face a much greater challenge in securing employment," said Paul Gada, personal financial planning director for the Allsup Disability Life Planning Center. "Their health condition may make it difficult to continue to work for extended periods, or it worsens so they are forced out of the labor market entirely."

Income at Risk shows that 724,746 people with disabilities applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) during the first quarter of 2012. This is up significantly from the 660,712 people who applied in the previous quarter, but just slightly above 720,119 applicants in the first quarter of 2011.

Overall, in 2011, nearly 2.9 million individuals were unable to continue to work because of a disability and applied for SSDI. Nearly 1.8 million SSDI claims are pending with an average cumulative wait time of more than 800 days, according to Allsup's analysis of the Social Security disability backlog.

Many individuals fall below the national poverty line and face significant financial hardships while awaiting their SSDI benefits. According to findings from an Allsup Disability Finance poll released earlier this month, people most commonly rely on friends and family to help them through, but nearly two-thirds of respondents report having sold personal belongings and many use various other means to try to make ends meet.

"Bankruptcies, foreclosures and other devastating financial hazards are too common among people with disabilities," Gada said. "To help minimize these hardships, it's important to apply for SSDI benefits as soon as possible and to seek representation to help navigate the SSDI process from the outset."

Five Reasons to Seek Early SSDI Representation

There are several advantages to having a Social Security disability representative, especially at the initial application stage. These include:

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Allsup and published on 2012/04/18, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, Allsup can be contacted at allsup.com NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

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Citing and References

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Cite This Page: Allsup. (2012, April 18 - Last revised: 2024, March 28). Rising Unemployment Rate for People With Disabilities. Disabled World (DW). Retrieved April 25, 2025 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/employment/rising.php

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