Tips to make sure disabilities don't derail diversity, inclusion efforts

The numbers aren't surprising. Year after year, statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) show the unemployment rate for people with disabilities to be dramatically higher than the rate for people without disabilities. Figures from June show the unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 64—the age group commonly considered to be the working-age population—was 11% for those with disabilities. That compares to 5.9% for people in the same age group who don't have disabilities. The 2020 unemployment rate was 13.3% for people ages 16 to 64 who have disabilities and 7.9% for people in the same age group without disabilities.

Does it have to be that way, or are there ways to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities? The DOL and other sources have ideas on how to level the playing field.

Finding talent

Every year, the DOL marks October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The theme for 2021 is "America's Recovery: Powered by Inclusion." The theme highlights the nation's emergence from the pandemic and the role people with disabilities can play in the economic recovery.

In announcing the month's theme, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said, "We must build an economy that fully includes the talent and drive of those with disabilities."

The DOL's Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) offers tips for employers on finding talent, writing job descriptions, interviewing, and more. It also has a website—askearn.org—that includes a list of resources for employers to tap into to find qualified candidates with disabilities.