Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities

Report

 

2006 Progress Report on the Economic Well-Being of Working-Age People with Disabilities

 

June, 2006

 

Introduction. 1

Data Source. 1

Definition of Disability. 1

Prevalence Rate. 2

Employment Rate. 3

Full-Time/Full-Year Employment 6

Poverty Rate. 8

Poverty Rate. 8

Median Household Income (Constant 2001 Dollars) 10

References. 12

Glossary of Terms. 13

 

 

 

2006 Progress Report on the Economic Well-Being of

Working-Age People with Disabilities

 

 

Introduction

 

This progress report on the prevalence rate, employment, poverty, and household income of working-age people with disabilities (ages 21-64) uses data from the 2007 and earlier Current Population Surveys –  Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC, a.k.a. Annual Demographic Survey, Income Supplement, and March CPS).  The CPS is the only dataset that provides continuously-defined yearly information on the working-age population with disabilities since 1981.

 

Data Source

 

The CPS is a monthly survey of the non-institutionalized population of the United States.  Information is collected on labor force characteristics (e.g., employment, earnings, and hours of work).  In March of each year, the CPS basic monthly survey is supplemented with the CPS-ASEC.  This supplement focuses on sources of income, government program participation, previous employment, insurance, and a variety of demographic characteristics.  The CPS and the CPS-ASEC are used extensively by government agencies, researchers, policy makers, journalists, and the general public to evaluate government programs, economic well-being and behavior of individuals, families, and households.

 

The Census Bureau conducts the CPS on behalf of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The CPS surveys the resident population of the United States.  Citizens living abroad or people living in long-term care facilities are not surveyed.  The CPS began in the early 1940s, but the work limitation variable was not introduced until 1981.  In 1994, major revisions were made to the employment questions on the Basic Monthly Survey.  Changes made in the CPS-ASEC were less substantial, and mainly reflected the shift to computer-assisted interviews.  Approximately 150,000 individuals participate in the surveys annually, although this number has increased in recent years.  For more information on the CPS-ASEC, see Burkhauser and Houtenville (2006) at http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/edicollect/1233/, or the BLS/Census Bureau website http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/cpsmain.htm.

 

Definition of Disability

 

The CPS-ASEC asks the work limitation question:  "[d]oes anyone in this household have a health problem or disability which prevents them from working or which limits the kind or amount of work they can do? [If so,] w

ho is that?  Anyone else?"  Similar work limitation questions appear in the American Community Survey (ACS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).  The CPS-ASEC work limitation question has been used extensively in the economics literature to capture the working-age population with disabilities and to compare its employment and economic well-being with the working-age population without disabilities.  Yet its use, especially outside the economics literature, is controversial. Some researchers and policy advocates dismiss results based on the CPS as fundamentally flawed, arguing that the set of individuals with work limitations captured in these data represent neither the actual population with disabilities nor its employment trends. (See especially Hale, 2001.)   Burkhauser, Daly, Houtenville, and Nargis (2002) show that while the levels of employment of found in the CPS data are significantly lower than those found in datasets with better measures of the working-age population with disabilities, the employment trends are not significantly different. For a fuller discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of CPS data for policy research related to the working-age population with disabilities, see Burkhauser and Houtenville (2006).

 

 

Prevalence Rate

 

 

·  In March 2006, the disability prevalence rate for the working-age population was 8.4 percent, up slightly from 8.3 percent in 2005.

 

·  After rising from a low of 7.3 percent in 1989 to a peak of about 8.4 percent in 1994, prevalence rates were relatively stable through 1997 before falling through 2001. Over the past three years, rates have fluctuated, returning to about their 1994 high in 2004 and remaining level in the last three years around 8.3 or 8.4 percent.

 

Bar Chart

Title: Disability Prevalence Rates for the WOrking Age Population

 

Bars compare the prevalence rates for 2005 and 2006, showing a slight increase from 8.3% to 8.4%

 

The data are available in the table below.

 

End Bar Chart

 

Graph: 

Trend in Disability Prevalence for the Working Age Population, 1981-2006

 

The graph represents the trends of disability prevalence from 1981 to 2006, showing it beginnign just below 8% in 1981, dipping lower around 1988, rising slightly above 8% from 1994 to 1998, and dipping again.

 

The values are presented fully in the table that follows the chart.

End Graph

 

 

 

Employment Rate

 

 

·  In March 2006, the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities was 18.9 percent, up slightly from 18.6 percent in 2005, and well below its peak of 28.8 percent in 1989.

 

·  In March 2006, the employment rate of working- age people without disabilities was 80.1 percent, up slightly from 79.5 percent in 2005 but still somewhat below its peak of 81.8 percent in 2000.

 

·  In March 2006, working-age people with disabilities were only 24 percent as likely to be employed as a working-age person without disabilities.

 

·  Between March 2005 and March 2006, the relative employment rate of working-age people with disabilities increased from 0.23 to 0.24.  This was the first rise since 2000, but is still well below its peak of 0.37 in 1989.

 

Bar Chart:

Employment Rates of the Working Age population

 

Four bars compare the employment rates of people with disabiliteis and without disabilities in 2005 and 2006.  They show a large difference in the employment rates  of those with and without disabilities, but only minor changes between the numbers for 2005 and 2006.  Numbers used to generate the chart are in the table that follows.

 

A Second Bar Chart shows the relative employment rates in 2005 and 2006 as a ratio.  It reveals that the relative rates stayed almost the same, going from .23 in 2005 to .24 in 2006.

End Bar Chart

 

Graph:

Trends in Employment Rates of the Working Age Population.

 

Three lines track the employment rates of people with disabilities, people without disabilities, and the ration between them, from 1980 to 2006. 

 

They show the employment rate of people without disabilities climbling slightly over that time, the employment rate of people without disabiliteis climbing slightly until 1989, dropping slighting from 1990-1994, and declining more steeply after that, except for a slight bump in 2000.

Numbers used to generate the graph appear in the table which follows.

End Graph

 

 

Full-Time/Full-Year Employment

 

 

·  In 2005, the full-time/full-year employment rate of working-age people with disabilities was 9.1 percent, unchanged from 2004 and well below its peak of 13.6 percent in 1985.

 

·  In 2005, the full-time/full-year employment rate of working-age people without disabilities was 62.5 percent, up slightly from 62.0 percent in 2004 but still somewhat below its peak of 64.5 percent in 2000.

 

·  In 2005, working-age people with disabilities were only 15 percent as likely to be employed as a working-age person without disabilities.

 

·  Between 2004 and 2005, the relative the full-time/full-year employment rate of working-age people with disabilities remained steady at 0.15.

 

Bar Chart: Full-Time/Full-Year Employment Rates of the Working Age Population

Four bars show the full-time Full-year employment rates of people with and without disabilities in 2004 and 2005.  There is no difference between the two years, but the rate for people with disabilities is just over 9 percent while the rate for people without disabiliteis is 62 percent.

Numbers used to generate the charts are available in the table that follows.

End chart

 

Graph: Trend in Full-time/Full-Year rates for the working age population, 1980, 2005.

 

This graph shows the full-time/full-year employment rates for people with and without disabilities from 1980 to 2005, as well as the relative ratio of the two numbers.

 

Rates for people without disabilities rose slowly but steadily after 1982, while rates for people with disabilities stayed mostly constant with a very slight downward trend.  The ratio of the two rates trends town from nearly .25 to .15 between 1986 and 2005.

 

Numbers used to gnerate this graph are available in the table that follows.

End Graph

 

 

 

 

Poverty Rate

 

 

·  In 2005, the poverty rate of working-age people with disabilities was 28.3 percent, down slightly from 28.0 percent in 2004 and still well above its low of 24.9 percent in 1980.

 

·  In 2005, the poverty rate of working-age people without disabilities was 9.1 percent, down slightly from 9.3 percent in 2004 and still well above its 7.5 percent low in 2000.

 

·  In 2005, working-age people with disabilities were 3.11 times more likely to be in poverty when compared to working-age people without disabilities.

 

·  Between 2004 and 2005, the relative poverty rate of working-age people with disabilities increased from 3.02 to 3.11.  This was the first rise since 2000, but the relative poverty rate is still well below its high of 3.64 in 2000 and well above its 2.45 low in 1983.

 

Bar Chart: Poverty Rates of the Working Age Population

 

Four bars show the poverty rates for people with and without disabilities in 2004 and 2005.  There is little difference between the two years, but a large difference bteween people with disabilities and people without disabilities - the rate is about 28 percent both years for people with disabiliies, but only about 9 percent for those without disabilities.  The relative rate between the two is nearly the same for both years - about 3.

 

Data used to generate these charts is available in the table that follows.

End Bar chart

 

Graph: Poverty Rates of the Working Age Population, 1980-2005

 

This graph shows the poverty rates for those with and without disabilitis as well as the ratio of the two rates, between 1980 and 2005.

 

The poverty rate of people without disabilies was relatively constant from 1980-1990, trended upwards in 1991-1993, decreased again from 1998-2001, and rose slightly from 2002-2005.

 

The poverty rate of people with disabilites was farily constant, hovering around 10 percent, dipping to a low of 7.5 percent in 2000 before rising back over 9 percent by 2005.

 

The relative rate jumped around a lot, but the general trend was upward over the course of the gracph, with a peak at 2000 and a low around 1983.

 

Data used to generate this graph are available in the table that follows.

End Graph

 

 

 

Median Household Income (Constant 2001 Dollars)

 

 

·  In 2005, the median household income of working-age people with disabilities was $26,322, nearly identical to that in 2004, $26,321, but still below its peak of $28,477 in 1989.

 

·  In 2005, the median household income of working-age people without disabilities was $57,151, up slightly from $56,957 in 2004 but still below its peak of $59,381 in 2000.

 

·  In 2005, the median household income of working-age people with disabilities was 46 percent of the median household income of working-age people without disabilities.

 

·  The relative median household income of working-age people with disabilities has remained at 0.46 since 2002, its lowest recorded value, and well below its peak of 0.56 in 1981 and 1982.

 

 

Bar Chart: Median Household Income of the Working Age Population

This chart shows the median household income for people with and without disabilities  in 2004 and 2005.  The numbers change very little between years - income for people without disabilities incrased from 56,957 to 57, 151, while income for people with disabilieies increased from 26,321 to 26, 322.  The relative rates for both years were exactly the same - .46.

 

Data used to generate this chart are available  in the table that follows.

End Bar Chart

 

Graph: Median Household income of the working age population, 1980-2005.

 

This graph shows the trends in household income for people with and without disabilities between 1980 and 2005. 

 

The median income for households of people without disabilities trends gently upwards, generally, with a flattening and slight decrease between 1988 and 1993.  It has also declined slightly from its high in 2000.

The median income for people with disabilities has stayed nearly level since 1980.

The relative rate has trended general downwards, except for 1988-1991

 

The data used to generate this graph are available in the table that follows.

End Graph

 

 

 

References

 

Burkhauser, R.V., Daly, M.C., Houtenville, A.J. & Nargis, N. 2002. Self-Reported Work Limitation Data: What They Can and Cannot Tell Us. Demography, 39 (3):  541-55.

Burkhauser, R. V. & Houtenville, A. J. 2006, September. A Guide to Disability Statistics from the Current Population Survey - Annual Social and Economic Supplement (March CPS). Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/edicollect/1233/

Hale, T. 2001. The Lack of a Disability Measure in Today’s Current Population Survey. Monthly Labor Review, June:  38–40.

Glossary of Terms

 

Disability.  A work limitation is determined in the March CPS by the following question: "[d]oes anyone in this household have a health problem or disability which prevents them from working or which limits the kind or amount of work they can do? [If so,] who is that? Anyone else?"

 

Employment Rate.  The employment rate is estimated in the month of March, which is when the CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement and its work limitation question are asked. Also known as the employment-to-population ratio, the employment rate is the percentage of the population that is employed. Persons who are employed are persons 16 years and over in the civilian non-institutional population who, during the full week prior to their survey, (a) did any work at all (at least 1 hour) as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family, and (b) all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather, childcare problems, maternity or paternity leave, labor-management dispute, job training, or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs. Each employed person is counted only once, even if he or she holds more than one job. Excluded are persons whose only activity consisted of work around their own house (painting, repairing, or own home housework) or volunteer work for religious, charitable, and other organizations. The total population (the numerator of the employment rate) consists of persons who are employed, persons who are unemployed, and persons not in the labor force. Note: the employment rate is not 100 minus the unemployment rate.

 

Full-Time/Full-Year Employment.  At least 50 weeks during the previous calendar year and at least 35 hours per week. Determined by condition that weeks worked is greater than or equal to 50 and usual hours per week is greater than or equal to 35 hours.

 

Household Income.  Household income is the sum of personal incomes of all household members. Income values are based on a large set of questions. The CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement in March asks questions on the amount of income received in the preceding calendar year from each of the following sources:  earnings (from the labor market, farming and self-employment), unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, public assistance, veterans' payments, survivor benefits, disability benefits, pension or retirement income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, estates and trusts, educational assistance, alimony, child support, financial assistance from outside of the household, and other income. Personal income is the sum of income from these components.  No corrections were made to account for topcoding of household income, as topcoding has slight effect on median calculations.  However, income is adjusted for inflation. These dollar values are adjusted for inflation. The dollar values in years prior to 2001 have been adjusted upwards to their 2001 equivalent. The dollar values after 2001 have been adjusted downwards to their 2001 equivalent. To do so, we use the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt). A dollar value in a given year is divided by the CPI-U of that year and then multiplied by the CPI-U of 2001.

 

Poverty Rate.  The poverty rate is the percentage of persons living in families in which the family (pre-tax) income is below the poverty line. The poverty line is determined by the federal government as specified in OMB Statistical Policy Directive 14. It approximates the dollar value necessary to purchase essential goods and services for people or families. It is important to note that the poverty line does not provide a complete description of what people and families need to live, rather it is an estimate based upon a set of assumptions. For example, the poverty measure assumes that the needs of the population with disabilities are the same as those without disabilities.  The poverty line depends on the size and composition of the family with regard to the number of children, adults and persons age 65 or over. For example, the poverty line (or threshold) in 2002 was $9,183 for a one-person family and $18,244 for a four-person family with two children (under age 18), and $18,307 for a four-person family with three children. The thresholds for 2002 may be found at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/threshld/thresh02.html.  More detail about the calculation of the poverty line may be found at www.census.gov/population/www/cps/cpsdef.html, or www.aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/poverty.shtml.

 

This report is being distributed by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities at Cornell University.

 

This center is funded to Cornell University by the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (Grant No. H133B040013). The contents of this paper do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education or any other federal agency, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government (Edgar, 75.620 (b)). The views in this policy brief are not necessarily endorsed by Cornell University or the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 

The Co-Principal Investigators are:

Susanne M. Bruyère— Director, Employment and Disability Institute, ILR School, Cornell University

Richard V. Burkhauser— Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor and Chair, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University

David C. Stapleton— Director, Cornell University Institute for Policy Research

For more information about the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities:

 

Susanne M. Bruyère

Employment and Disability Institute

Cornell University

201 ILR Extension Building

Ithaca, New York 14853-3901

 

Tel                   607.255.7727

Fax                   607.255.2763

TTY                 607.255.2891

Email                smb23@cornell.edu

Web                 www.edi.cornell.edu