Disability and Unemployment

A survey has found that ''not working'' is perhaps the truest definition of being disabled. It found that 12.4 million or 66 percent of the 18.3 million disabled Americans between the ages of 16 and 64 are not working. No other demographic group had such a small portion of working individuals. This figure is significant especially in light of the fact that 8.2 million or some 66 percent of those disabled persons who were not working would like to have a job. The major barriers to employment for these persons were the lack of marketable skills and the lack of accessible or affordable transportation to jobs.