Employment for people with disabilities statistics at a glance
Employment for people with disabilities is best understood by looking at participation, employment, unemployment, and the parts of the labor market where workers are actually landing. The 2025 BLS data shows a large population with very different outcomes depending on age, education, and other labor-market characteristics (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A; Table 1; Table 2; Table 3; Table 4).
Fast facts
- 35,286,000 people with a disability were in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over in 2025 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
- The civilian labor force for people with a disability was 8,755,000 in 2025 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
- The labor force participation rate was 24.8% and the employment-population ratio was 22.8% in 2025 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
- The unemployment rate was 8.3% in 2025, with 725,000 people unemployed (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
- 26,532,000 people with a disability were not in the labor force in 2025 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
Key takeaway
The biggest pattern in the data is not just that employment outcomes differ, but that they differ sharply by subgroup. Age, schooling, and industry all line up with noticeably different employment and unemployment rates (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1; Table 3; Table 4).
Table of contents
- The headline numbers
- Age patterns in employment for people with disabilities
- Education and labor market outcomes
- Race and ethnicity comparisons
- Work patterns and occupation mix
- Industry distribution and job types
- What the 2025 statistics say to watch
The headline numbers
The core employment picture starts with the size of the population itself. In 2025, there were 35,286,000 people with a disability in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over, and 8,755,000 of them were in the labor force (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
That means the labor market conversation is not about a small slice of the population. It is about a group large enough that even modest changes in participation or hiring affect millions of people.
At a glance
| Measure | 2025 value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Civilian noninstitutional population age 16+ | 35,286,000 | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Civilian labor force | 8,755,000 | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Labor force participation rate | 24.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Employed | 8,029,000 | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Employment-population ratio | 22.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Unemployed | 725,000 | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Unemployment rate | 8.3% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
| Not in labor force | 26,532,000 | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A |
The table makes one thing obvious: the employment gap is driven by more than unemployment alone. A very large share of people with a disability are not in the labor force at all, which is why participation is such an important metric in any analysis of employment for people with disabilities (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
Big number: 26,532,000 people with a disability were not in the labor force in 2025 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
Age patterns in employment for people with disabilities
Age is one of the clearest dividing lines in the data. The 2025 statistics show that younger and middle-age groups do not behave the same way, and the differences are large enough to matter when you are comparing employment strategies, education pathways, or transition-to-work programs (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Employment-population ratio by age
| Age group | Employment-population ratio | Unemployment rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 to 19 | 22.1% | 25.6% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 20 to 24 | 42.3% | 15.7% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 25 to 34 | 51.4% | 8.9% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 35 to 44 | 47.1% | 8.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 45 to 54 | 39.3% | 6.6% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 55 to 64 | 28.8% | 5.7% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| 65 and over | 7.8% | 5.5% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
The most striking point here is the jump from teen workers to workers in their mid-20s and early 30s. The employment-population ratio rises from 22.1% for ages 16 to 19 to 51.4% for ages 25 to 34 (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
The unemployment rate is also notably high for the youngest group at 25.6%, then falls to 15.7% for ages 20 to 24 and into single digits for adults 25 and older in every listed age band except the youngest adult cohorts (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
What the age split suggests
- Entry into work appears uneven, especially for people with disabilities ages 16 to 19, where unemployment is very high relative to the other age bands (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- Employment peaks among ages 25 to 34 at 51.4%, then declines in older age bands (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- The oldest group, age 65 and over, has an employment-population ratio of just 7.8%, which reflects the combined effect of age and labor-force attachment patterns (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
A useful way to read this section is that employment for people with disabilities is not a single lifecycle story. The labor market looks very different at the transition into adulthood than it does in prime working age or later working life (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Education and labor market outcomes
Education is another strong divider in the 2025 statistics. For people with a disability age 25 and over, the employment-population ratio and unemployment rate both shift as education rises, which suggests that educational attainment remains closely tied to labor-market outcomes (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Education comparison for people age 25 and over
| Education level | Employment-population ratio | Unemployment rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 10.6% | 10.6% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| High school graduate, no college | 17.5% | 7.6% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| Some college or associate degree | 25.2% | 7.6% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 31.3% | 5.3% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
The pattern is straightforward but important. People with a disability age 25 and over who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have the strongest employment-population ratio in this set at 31.3%, while those with less than a high school diploma are at 10.6% (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
That is a large gap, and it matters because the table is not just measuring employment. It is capturing the combined effect of job access, job preparation, and labor-market attachment.
Notable education takeaways
- The employment-population ratio nearly triples from less than high school to bachelor’s degree or higher, moving from 10.6% to 31.3% (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- The unemployment rate is highest at 10.6% for those with less than a high school diploma and lowest at 5.3% for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- High school completion alone is associated with better outcomes than less than high school, but the biggest gains appear in the college ranges (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
For readers looking at employment for people with disabilities statistics through a workforce lens, this is one of the most practical sections in the dataset. It suggests that postsecondary education correlates with stronger employment attachment, even though the employment-population ratio remains below the overall population average described in the headline figures (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A; Table 1).
Race and ethnicity comparisons
The 2025 data also breaks out employment-population ratios and unemployment rates by race and ethnicity. These numbers should be read carefully, but they still show important differences inside the broader category of people with a disability (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Race and ethnicity snapshot
| Group | Employment-population ratio | Unemployment rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 22.7% | 7.3% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| Black or African American | 21.1% | 11.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| Asian | 20.9% | 7.9% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 23.8% | 9.5% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1 |
The employment-population ratios are fairly close together, ranging from 20.9% for Asian people with a disability to 23.8% for Hispanic or Latino people with a disability (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
The unemployment rates show a wider spread. Black or African American people with a disability have the highest unemployment rate in this set at 11.8%, while White people with a disability are at 7.3% (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Why these comparisons matter
- Similar employment-population ratios do not always mean similar labor-market experiences, because unemployment can differ meaningfully even when employment shares look close (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- Hispanic or Latino people with a disability show the highest employment-population ratio in this set at 23.8%, but their unemployment rate is still 9.5%, which is not low by any normal labor-market standard (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- Black or African American workers with a disability face the sharpest unemployment rate among the listed groups, which makes the gap between participation and employment especially important to watch (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
Work patterns and occupation mix
Employment for people with disabilities is not concentrated in one type of work. The 2025 data shows a broad spread across occupational groups, with management and professional work taking the largest share, but service and sales also representing substantial shares (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3).
Occupation distribution
| Occupation group | Share of employed people with a disability | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Management, professional, and related occupations | 37.5% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3 |
| Service occupations | 20.0% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3 |
| Sales and office occupations | 21.0% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3 |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations | 7.7% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3 |
| Production, transportation, and material moving occupations | 13.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3 |
The largest slice is management, professional, and related occupations at 37.5% (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3). That is a strong reminder that employment for people with disabilities spans white-collar, service, and production work rather than being confined to one narrow segment.
More work-pattern detail
The labor force picture also includes employment status and job tenure style, especially through full-time versus part-time work:
- 5,602,000 employed people with a disability usually worked full time (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 2).
- 2,427,000 usually worked part time (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 2).
- 327,000 were working part time for economic reasons (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 2).
That split matters because it shows that part-time work is a major feature of the employment experience, not just a minor side note. The “part time for economic reasons” figure is especially relevant when you are trying to understand whether the available work matches worker preferences or reflects constraint (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 2).
Stat callout: 5,602,000 people with a disability usually worked full time in 2025, while 2,427,000 usually worked part time (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 2).
Industry distribution and job types
Industry tells a different story from occupation, and the two together give a more complete picture of where people are working. The 2025 statistics show sizeable shares in education and health services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4).
Industry snapshot
| Industry | Share of employed people with a disability | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and related industries | 2.1% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Education and health services | 21.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Professional and business services | 13.1% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 9.2% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Private industry | 76.8% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Government | 14.0% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Self-employed, unincorporated | 9.1% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
| Wage and salary workers | 90.9% | BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4 |
Two shares stand out immediately. First, 76.8% of employed people with a disability worked in private industry (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4). Second, 90.9% were wage and salary workers, which shows that self-employment is present but still a minority arrangement (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4).
The industry data also points to the importance of education and health services at 21.8%, which is the single largest named industry share in the dataset (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 4).
What the 2025 statistics say to watch
If you are using employment for people with disabilities statistics to orient a policy memo, a program brief, or an editorial piece, the 2025 BLS figures suggest a few durable themes:
- Labor-force participation remains a central issue because a large majority of the population counted here is not in the labor force (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
- Employment outcomes vary sharply by age, with especially weak results for ages 16 to 19 and much stronger outcomes in the 25 to 34 range (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- Education has a clear association with better outcomes, especially when comparing less than high school with bachelor’s degree or higher (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 1).
- Occupation and industry data show that people with a disability work across the economy, with the largest occupation share in management, professional, and related work and the largest industry share in private industry overall (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table 3; Table 4).
- The gap between being employed and being fully attached to the labor force is still important, because employment statistics alone do not capture the full share of people who are outside the labor market (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A).
The most useful reading of these statistics is not that one single metric explains everything. It is that participation, employment, unemployment, age, education, occupation, and industry each reveal a different part of the employment picture for people with disabilities, and the 2025 data gives you enough detail to compare those parts side by side (BLS 2025 Persons with a Disability release, Table A; Table 1; Table 2; Table 3; Table 4).