Jobless rate for disabled almost 10 times overall rate

From the Charlotte Observer, a feature on unemployed secretary Carol Franks. She was born with no arms, yet has worked most of her adult life. She was laid off from her job two years ago as part of a “workforce reduction,” and has been seeking a new position ever since.

“I’m not handicapped,” she says. “I just do things differently … I tell them there’s nothing I can’t do … I’m fully capable, as over 35 years of employment has proven.”

… Despite anti-discrimination laws and new private-sector employment initiatives targeting the disabled, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 44.2 percent, almost 10 times as much as the overall national unemployment rate, U.S. Census Bureau data show. A Cornell University study released in November found even higher unemployment rates among all the nation’s 22.3 million disabled workers age 21-64. These people also were twice as likely to live in poverty, the study said.

Prejudice and accessibility are to blame, says George Kerford, chairman emeritus of the World Association of Persons with Disabilities in Oklahoma City.

“Too often people in wheelchairs can’t get into some places because employers won’t make their buildings accessible,” he said. “And, to be honest, the other reason is a lot of people don’t want disabled people around.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 10:09 am and is filed under employment, limb loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post