38.8% of people with a work disability between the ages of 25 and 34 are in the labor force, 87.6 percent of non-disabled peers are in the labor force. ⅘ of younger people without disabilities compared to less than half of those with disabilities are employed. The latter are less likely to employed a full year.

Statistics on Disability, Education, and Employment

People with disabilities are more likely to work part-time either due to the nature of their disability or the jobs often given to those with disabilities. They have overall lower earnings which can affect one’s ability to achieve total independence.

Part-time versus Full-time Employment for People with Disabiltiies

Greater educational attainment correlated with greater labor force participation for people with disabilities compared to those without. People with disabilities display lower educational attainment overall. They also display lower economic outcomes due to lower levels of employment.

University of Notre Dame

Low employment is correlated with lower levels of education, but people with early onset disabilities have higher employment rates compared to people with late onset. This is possibly because people with early onset disabilities choose careers that can be easily accommodated or are more adept at seeking resources.

Relation between Early Onset Disabilities, Labor Force Participation, and Educational Attainment

Loprest, P., &amp; Maag, E. (2007). The relationship between early disability onset and education and Employment. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 26(1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/e723332011-001 

The Relationship Between Early Disability Onset and Education and Employment

The findings of the paper attribute people with early onset disabilities as having higher employment rates due to having easily accommodated career or being better at finding resources. However, it is also important not to undermine the underlying resilience of these individuals, who, most likely, succeeded in higher educational outcome because they were able to persevere and overcome adversity with a disability.

Loprest and Maag Findings Reflecting Resilience

In recent times, there has been an increase in employment opportunities due to disability policies, i.e. the ADA and the SSA return-to-work programs. However, there are concerns that younger people with disabilities will become over-reliant on such programs instead of work, which raises questions of whether return-to-work and other programs are best suited for those with early onset disabilities.
- Need for understanding of overall employment outcomes to determine best points of intervention (at secondary education, etc.)
- Necessary for economic and social reasons (full participation in society)

Need to Study the Relationship Between Employment and Early Onset Disabilities

Relation between Disability, Employment, and Education

Schooling was not reported to be significantly interrupted by initial onset, but the student must deal with their disability (and its severity) in later educational years. People with early onset before age 5 compared to after are less likely to graduate from high school, most probably due to severity and types of disabilities.

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