The Employment Rates of Disabled People

Abstract

2.7 million people are out of work and claim incapacity related benefits - more than double the number 25 years ago. This is a problem for the exchequer (benefit payments); for the economy (restricted labour supply); and above all for the disabled people themselves (poverty and social exclusion). The usual data sources provide very limited information about disability, and cannot be used to describe variations in employment probabilities among disabled people, or the influences on their prospects (in comparison with non-disabled people). This detailed analysis is based on the specialist Health and Disability Survey in combination with the Family Resources Survey.