Employment and Economic Well-Being of People with Disabilities Before and After the Great Recession Gina Livermore and Todd Honeycutt Mathematica Policy Research Employment Measurement and Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center State of the Science Conference Bethesda, MD April 9, 2014

●Examine employment outcomes and indicators of economic well-being for working-age people (age 18 – 64) with and without disabilities from 2006 through 2010 –Period spans one calendar year before to one calendar year after the December 2007 – June 2009 recession –Examine 2012 data to assess post-recession recovery in later years ●Assess how people with disabilities fared during this period relative to their nondisabled counterparts Study Purpose 2

●Recent focus on employment of people with disabilities –Numerous programs/policies designed to promote the employment of people with disabilities and reduce long-term dependence on the Social Security disability programs –Concerns about long-term downward trend in the percent employed and rapid growth in the disability programs ●How people with disabilities fared during the economic downturn and recovery has implications for future growth in the federal disability programs Why Is This Topic Interesting? 3

●Data –Current Population Survey (CPS), March Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2006 – 2013 ▪Compare working-age (age 18-64) people with and without disabilities ●Disability Measure –Limited in amount or kind of work that can be performed because of a physical or mental health condition –Received disability program income from Social Security, private disability insurance, or the Veterans Administration in the year before the survey Data and Methods 4

●Outcomes 2006 – 2012, with a focus on the 2006 to 2010 period –Employment ▪Labor force participation ▪Employment ▪Unemployment ▪Job characteristics –Annual income –Annual poverty rate ●For selected outcomes we use regression models to hold personal characteristics constant to assess the difference between people with and without disabilities Data and Methods (cont’d) 5

Percent Change Labor force participation rate (%) People with disabilities b People without disabilities a Unemployment rate (%) People with disabilities a,b People without disabilities a Annual employment rate (%) People with disabilities a,b People without disabilities a Labor Force Status 2006, 2010, and 2012 Source: March CPS, 2006, 2010, and 2012 a 2010 value is significantly different from the 2006 value at the 0.05 level. b 2010 value for people with disabilities is significantly different from the 2010 value for people without disabilities at the 0.05 level. 6

Long-Term Employment Trends 1980 – % 29.9% 96.3% 93.3% Source: Weathers and Wittenburg (2009) based on CPS data % 47.1% 93.4% 29.9%

Workers with DisabilitiesWorkers without Disabilities Selected Job Characteristics Percent Change Percent Change Full-time/full-year (%) a,b a -6.1 Occupation (%) Services a,b a 8.7 Sales a,b a -5.2 Blue collar a,b a -9.2 Industry (%) Goods-producing a,b a -12.3* Service-producing a,b a 3.2 Public administration a,b a 7.1 Changes in Job Characteristics Source: March CPS, 2007 and 2011 Note: Job characteristics are associated with job held the longest during the year. a 2010 value is significantly different from the 2006 value at the 0.05 level. b 2010 value for people with disabilities is significantly different from the 2010 value for people without disabilities at the 0.05 level. 8

Percent Change2012 Average Annual Household Income ($2012) People with disabilities53,37751,173 a,b ,577 People without disabilities97,00590,659 a ,841 Annual Poverty Rate (%) People with disabilities a,b People without disabilities a Income and Poverty 2006, 2010, and 2012 Source: March CPS, 2007, 2011, and 2013 a 2010 value is significantly different from the 2006 value at the 0.05 level. b 2010 value for people with disabilities is significantly different from the 2010 value for people without disabilities at the 0.05 level. 9

Change Percent Change Annual Employment People with disabilities a,b People without disabilities a Average Annual Household Income ($2010) People with disabilities70,67264,861 a,b -5, People without disabilities86,92682,310 a -4, Annual Poverty Rate (%) People with disabilities a,b People without disabilities a Holding Characteristics Constant at Levels of People without Disabilities Source: March CPS, 2007 and 2011 a 2010 value is significantly different from the 2006 value at the 0.05 level. b 2010 value for people with disabilities is significantly different from the 2010 value for people without disabilities at the 0.05 level. 10

●Overall, from 2006 to 2010, changes experienced by people with disabilities were similar to or less dramatic than changes experienced by people without disabilities –Employment declined markedly but may not necessarily be due to the recession –For both groups income fell similarly, but poverty increased less dramatically for people with disabilities ●Changes in the distribution of jobs was larger for workers with disabilities than for workers without disabilities –Declines in goods-producing, blue collar, and sales jobs Findings: Summary and Implications 11

●Recessionary effects on people with disabilities is muted when we look at the group as a whole –Substantially lower labor force participation and employment rates make recessionary effects on earnings less significant ●Recovery from the recession has been slow; long-term impacts on employment and participation in the Social Security disability programs are likely –Sharp increase in the number of disability applications in 2009 likely due to high unemployment –Long-term program growth due to other factors will be exacerbated in the short-term by the recession Findings: Summary and Implications (cont’d) 12

Contact Information Gina Livermore Center for Studying Disability Policy Mathematica Policy Research st Street NE, 12 th Floor Washington, DC (202)