Current ILO statistics show that in most countries, people with disabilities face higher rates of unemployment.
According to the ILO, in about two-thirds of the countries for which data are available, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is higher than for those without.
The statistics show that while the unemployment rate among the former is higher in most of the developed countries, in many developing countries it is lower than for people without disabilities.
The ILO stated that because of the absence or inadequacy of disability-related benefits and, more generally, of social protection floors in developing countries, people with disabilities there can often simply not afford to stay without employment.
The statistics also show that only one in three people with disabilities are employed on average. Significantly, they are two times less likely to be employed than people without disabilities.
The available statistics show that people with disabilities are more likely than those without to be self-employed, namely as own-account workers or contributing family workers. In many countries, this reflects the lack of opportunities to find paid employment.
Also, people with disabilities face higher barriers to education than the general population.
Among a sample of ten countries with available data, the average level of education of employed people with disabilities was found to be lower than that of those without they were two times more likely to have less than primary education.
The same pattern could be observed for all other levels of education. While extrapolating from such a small sample to obtain reliable global estimates is impossible, these findings do reflect how people with disabilities generally face several barriers, including barriers to education at an early stage of their lives.
This is particularly true of those who are born with their disabilities or who acquire them in childhood. Failure to make appropriate provisions to include young people with disabilities in mainstream education, along with other obstacles, has a significant impact on their subsequent labor market outcomes.
The ILO further indicated in its report that women with disabilities face a double disadvantage in the labor market based on both their gender and their disability status.
In all the countries studied, the employment rate for women with disabilities was lower than not only the rate for men without disabilities but also that for women and men with disabilities, which confirms persisting gender disparities in labor markets worldwide.
People with disabilities make up 15 percent of the global population according to the World Report on Disability published by the World Health Organization and the World Bank in 2011.
However, the ILO says, they are far from adequately represented in labor markets around the world.
Additionally, they face lower rates of paid employment that provides financial security or social benefits. More disability-friendly policies are needed to support them and promote their involvement in the labor market.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the 2030 Agenda make explicit reference to disability in several labor market-related targets and their associated indicators
The ILO noted that a lot remains to be done before the objectives of full and productive employment and decent work can be achieved for people with disabilities, despite the significant attention paid to issues of disability in the world of work, especially on 3rd December each year, which marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The ILO has developed, in collaboration with the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, a labor force survey module that can be used to collect data on the various kinds of barriers that people with disabilities face in the labor market and that prevent them from participating in an equal basis with others.
“Analysis of such information can contribute significantly to the design, implementation, and review of national policies and interventions in support of people with disabilities”, the ILO said in its report.
