Disabled in Canada – The employment rate aged for 25 to 64 was 49% in 2011 compared with 79% for those without a disability

The employment rate of Canadians aged 25 to 64 with disabilities was 49% in 2011, compared with 79% for Canadians without a disability. Among those with a ‘very severe’ disability, the employment rate was 26%.

Canadians with disabilities include those with a physical or mental disability related to seeing, hearing, mobility, flexibility, dexterity, pain, learning, development, psychological/mental disorders or memory.

More than two million Canadians aged 25 to 64, or 11% of the population in this age group, reported being limited in their activities because of at least one of these conditions. Of this group, approximately one million were employed in 2011.

To account for the fact that some disabilities can be more limiting than others, each person with disabilities was assigned a ‘severity score’ based on the number of disability types, the intensity of difficulties and the frequency of activity limitations. Using this score, persons with disabilities were classified across four categories of severity: ‘mild,’ ‘moderate,’ ‘severe’ and ‘very severe.’

Among those who had a mild disability, the employment rate was 68%, compared with 54% of those who had a moderate disability. The rate drops to 42% for persons who had a severe disability and 26% among those who had a very severe disability.

Highlights

• University graduates with a mild or moderate disability have employment rates similar to their counterparts without a disability
• Perceptions of discrimination higher among young individuals with disabilities
• Employed persons with disabilities more concentrated in personal services and sales occupations

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The Daily — Study: Persons with disabilities and employment.