2013 Annual 

Disability Statistics 

Compendium

Capitol Hill Briefing

Dec. 11, 2013
• Welcome to the release briefing of the Fifth 

Annual Disability Statistics Compendium.

• Presented by the Rehabilitation Research and 

Training Center on Disability Statistics and 

Demographics (StatsRRTC) at Kessler 

Foundation.

• Funded by the National Institute on Disability 

and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

Introduction

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• Describe the purpose of the Compendium.

• Discuss what is new this year.

• Highlight some of the patterns and trends.

• Solicit input on additional topics for next year.

• Talk about potential uses of the Compendium.

• Mention how to access the Compendium and 

technical assistance.

Purpose of this Presentation

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• To provide the disability community with a 

comprehensive set of the statistics

– Ready access

– Up-to-date

– Variety of topics and sources

– Population (survey) and administrative statistics

– Guide to existing sources of data and statistics

• Modeled after Statistical Abstracts of the U.S.

Purpose of the Compendium

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• A comprehensive set of tables with descriptive 

summary pages

• Based on existing published statistics

• References to original sources with links

• Access to technical assistance via a toll free 

number

• A particular focus on state-level statistics and 

national trends.

Design of the Compendium

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• Population size and prevalence

• Employment, poverty, and wages/salary

• Veterans statistics

• Health insurance coverage, health behaviors, 

and other health statistics

• Supplemental Security Income, Social Security 

Disability Insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid

• Special education

• Vocational rehabilitation

• Federal government spending

Topics Covered

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• Definition of Disability: The Compendium 

contains statistics from different data sources, 

which have different methods to identify people 

with disabilities vary by source.

– See Glossary.

• Definition of Employment/Unemployment: such 

statistics are constructed in very specific ways.

– See Glossary.

Cautions

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Civilians (Living in the Community)

Population Size, 2012

8

People with Disabilities

38.4 million

(12.3%)

People without Disabilities

274.1 million

(87.7%)

Source: American Community Survey

Table 1.3
Civilians (Living in the Community)

Since 2008

9

262.5 265.3 267.9 272.3 274.1

36.1 36.2 36.4 37.5 38.4

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

12.0% 11.9% 12.2%

Millions

Source: American Community Survey

12.1% 12.1%
Civilians Ages 18-64 (Living in the Community)

Numbers, by Disability Type, 2012

10

20.0 

0

5

10

15

20

Total Hearing Vision Cognitive Ambulatory Self-Care Ind. Living

Millions

4.0 3.5

8.5

10.2

3.7

7.1

Source: American Community Survey

Tables 1.8-1.13
Civilians Ages 18-64 Living in the Community

Employment Rate, 2012

11

73.6%

0

20

40

60

80

Percentage

32.7

49.1

22.8 23.7

16.0 15.4

36.5

Source: American Community Survey

Tables 2.1-2.8
Civilians Ages 18-64 Living in the Community

Employment Rates, Since 2009

12 Source: American Community Survey Percentage

77.7 74.3 72.8 72.8 73.6

39.1

35.3 33.4 32.6 32.7

0

20

40

60

80

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Gap 

39.0 pts

Gap 

40.2 pts

Gap 

40.9 pts

Slight Recovery

Gap 

39.4 pts

Gap 

38.6 pts
Civilians Ages 16-64

Trends in Labor Force Participation

13

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

OND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A

People with Disabilities

People without Disabilities

2009 2010 2011 2013

Source: Current Population Survey

Table 3.2

2008 2012
Civilians Ages 16-64

Gap in Labor Force Participation

14

35

40

45

50

55

OND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A SOND J FMAM J J A S

Gap

2009 2010 2011 2013

Source: Current Population Survey

Table 3.2

2008 2012
Monthly Number of SSDI Applications

Applications to SSDI

15

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

9/02 9/03 9/04 9/05 9/06 9/07 9/08 9/09 9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13

Table 9.10

Source: SSA Publications
• 2008 Federal Expenditures on Working-Age 

People with Disabilities

- Social Security Administration

$131,917,000,000

- Vocational Rehabilitation

$1,644,000,000

Federal Expenditures

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Tables 13.1, 13.4
• Monthly Statistics Update: Kessler/UNH 

National Trends in Disability Employment 

(TIDE) Report

• Compendium: Five more years (thanks to 

NIDRR)

• Annual Report on Disability: 

– A “higher level” progress report

– Expanding topics

– Adding more detailed indicators

Other Things of Interest

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• www.DisabilityCompendium.org

– Accessible pdf and accessible html.

– Limited print versions.

• Technical assistance available at our toll-free 

number -- 866-538-9521

Accessing the Compendium

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Andrew J. Houtenville, Ph.D.

Institute on Disability

University of New Hampshire

10 West Edge Drive, Suite 201

Durham, NH 03824

(603) 862-4004

Andrew.Houtenville@unh.edu

Contact Information

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