For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, February 24, 2022 USDL-22-0317 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS — 2021 

In 2021, 19.1 percent of persons with a disability were employed, up from 17.9 percent in 2020, the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. For persons without a disability, 63.7 percent were employed 

in 2021, up from 61.8 percent in the prior year. The unemployment rates for persons with and without a 

disability both declined from 2020 to 2021, to 10.1 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. Data for both 

groups reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market. 

Data on persons with a disability are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a 

monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides statistics on employment and 

unemployment in the United States. Collection of the data on persons with a disability is sponsored by 

the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. For more information, see the 

Technical Note in this news release.

Highlights from the 2021 data: 

• Half of all persons with a disability were age 65 and over, nearly three times larger than the share for 

those with no disability. (See table 1.) 

• Across all age groups, persons with disabilities were much less likely to be employed than those 

with no disabilities. (See table 1.)

• Across all educational attainment groups, unemployment rates for persons with a disability were 

higher than those for persons without a disability. (See table 1.) 

• In 2021, 29 percent of workers with a disability were employed part time, compared with 16 percent 

for those with no disability. (See table 2.) 

• Employed persons with a disability were more likely to be self-employed than those with no 

disability. (See table 4.) 

Demographic characteristics

In 2021, persons with a disability accounted for 11.9 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. 

Persons with a disability tend to be older than persons with no disability, reflecting the increased 

incidence of disability with age. In 2021, half of persons with a disability were age 65 and over, 

compared with 18 percent of those with no disability. Overall, women were somewhat more likely to 
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have a disability than men, partly reflecting the greater life expectancy of women. In 2021, the 

prevalence of disability continued to be higher for Blacks and Whites than for Hispanics and Asians. 

(See table 1.)

Employment

The employment-population ratio—that is, the percent of the population that is employed—for persons 

with a disability increased by 1.2 percentage points from the prior year to 19.1 percent in 2021. This was 

nearly the same ratio as in 2019 (19.3 percent), before the impact of the pandemic. The ratio for those 

without a disability, at 63.7 percent in 2021, increased by 1.9 percentage points over the year but was 

2.6 percentage points lower than in 2019. The lower ratio among persons with a disability reflects, in 

part, the older age profile of persons with a disability; older workers are less likely to be employed, 

regardless of disability status. However, across all age groups, persons with a disability were much less 

likely to be employed than those with no disability. (See tables A and 1.) 

In 2021, the employment-population ratio for persons with a disability ages 16 to 64 increased to 31.4 

percent, while the ratio for persons without a disability in the same age group increased to 72.5 percent. 

The ratios for persons age 65 and over with a disability (6.9 percent) and without a disability (22.3 

percent) showed little or no change from the prior year. (See table A.) 

Persons with a disability were less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree and higher than those 

with no disability. Among both groups, those who had attained higher levels of education were more 

likely to be employed than those who had attained less education. Across all levels of education in 2021, 

persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were their counterparts with no 

disability. (Educational attainment data are presented for those age 25 and over.) (See table 1.) 

Workers with a disability were more likely to be employed part time than those with no disability. 

Among workers with a disability, 29 percent usually worked part time in 2021, compared with 16 

percent of those without a disability. The proportion of workers with a disability who worked part time 

for economic reasons was higher than their counterparts without a disability (4 percent, compared with 3 

percent). These individuals were working part time because their hours had been reduced or because 

they were not able to find a full-time job. (See table 2.) 

In 2021, persons with a disability were more likely to work in service occupations than those with no 

disability (18.2 percent, compared with 15.9 percent). Workers with a disability were also more likely 

than those with no disability to work in production, transportation, and material moving occupations 

(14.6 percent, compared with 12.6 percent) and sales and office occupations (21.4 percent, compared 

with 19.7 percent). Persons with a disability were less likely to work in management, professional, and 

related occupations than those without a disability (36.5 percent, compared with 42.7 percent). (See 

table 3.) 

A larger share of workers with a disability were self-employed in 2021 than were those with no 

disability (9.6 percent versus 6.4 percent). In contrast, a smaller share of workers with a disability were 

private wage and salary workers (76.5 percent) than were those without a disability (80.0 percent). The 

proportion of persons employed in government was about the same for both persons with a disability 

and persons without a disability (13.9 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively). (See table 4.) 
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Unemployment

The unemployment rate for persons with a disability, at 10.1 percent in 2021, decreased by 2.5 

percentage points from the previous year but remains higher than in 2019 (7.3 percent). The jobless rate 

for those with a disability was about twice as high as the rate for those without a disability. 

(Unemployed persons are those who did not have a job, were available for work, and were actively 

looking for a job in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.) The unemployment rate for persons without a 

disability decreased by 2.8 percentage points to 5.1 percent in 2021. (See tables A and 1.) 

At 10.1 percent in 2021, the unemployment rate for men with a disability was the same as for women 

with a disability. The unemployment rates for both men and women with a disability decreased from 

2020 to 2021; however, both remain above their 2019 rates.

Among persons with a disability, the jobless rates for Blacks (15.1 percent) and Hispanics (13.3 percent) 

were higher than the rates for Whites (9.3 percent) and Asians (8.5 percent) in 2021. The rates for 

Whites, Asians, and Hispanics decreased from 2020 to 2021, while the rate for Blacks showed little 

change. (See table 1.) 

Not in the labor force 

Persons who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force. A large proportion of 

persons with a disability—about 8 in 10—were not in the labor force in 2021, compared with about 3 in 

10 of those with no disability. In part, this reflects the older age profile of persons with a disability; 

persons age 65 and over are much less likely to participate in the labor force than younger age groups. 

Across all age groups, however, persons with a disability were more likely to be out of the labor force 

than those with no disability. (See table 1.) 

For persons with and without a disability, the vast majority of those not in the labor force reported that 

they do not want a job. In 2021, 3 percent of those with a disability and 7 percent of those without a 

disability wanted a job. Among those who do want a job, a subset are classified as marginally attached 

to the labor force. These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job 

sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched 

for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (Persons marginally attached to the labor force include 

discouraged workers.) Less than 1 percent of persons with a disability and about 2 percent of persons 

without a disability were marginally attached to the labor force in 2021. (See table 5.) 
Table A. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by disability status and age, 2020 and

2021 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

2020 2021

Total, 16

years

and over

16 to 64

years

65 years

and over

Total, 16

years

and over

16 to 64

years

65 years

and over

PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 29,918 14,826 15,092 31,084 15,586 15,498

Civilian labor force.................................................. 6,123 4,979 1,144 6,619 5,477 1,142

Participation rate.................................................. 20.5 33.6 7.6 21.3 35.1 7.4

Employed.......................................................... 5,354 4,310 1,043 5,950 4,886 1,063

Employment-population ratio................................. 17.9 29.1 6.9 19.1 31.4 6.9

Unemployed....................................................... 769 669 101 669 591 78

Unemployment rate............................................ 12.6 13.4 8.8 10.1 10.8 6.8

Not in labor force.................................................... 23,796 9,847 13,948 24,465 10,108 14,357

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 230,411 190,895 39,515 230,361 189,669 40,692

Civilian labor force.................................................. 154,620 145,151 9,469 154,585 145,127 9,458

Participation rate.................................................. 67.1 76.0 24.0 67.1 76.5 23.2

Employed.......................................................... 142,441 133,667 8,774 146,631 137,567 9,064

Employment-population ratio................................. 61.8 70.0 22.2 63.7 72.5 22.3

Unemployed....................................................... 12,178 11,484 694 7,954 7,560 394

Unemployment rate............................................ 7.9 7.9 7.3 5.1 5.2 4.2

Not in labor force.................................................... 75,791 45,744 30,047 75,776 44,542 31,234

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Technical Note

 The estimates in this release are based on annual 

average data obtained from the Current Population 

Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the 

U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

(BLS), is a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible 

households that provides information on the labor 

force status, demographics, and other characteristics

of the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 

16 and over.

 Questions were added to the CPS in June 2008 to 

identify persons with a disability in the civilian 

noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The

addition of these questions allowed the BLS to begin 

releasing monthly labor force data from the CPS for 

persons with a disability. The collection of these data 

is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of 

Disability Employment Policy.

 If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 

telecommunications relay services.

Reliability of the estimates

 Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both 

sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, 

rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is 

a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the 

true population values they represent. The component 

of this difference that occurs because samples differ 

by chance is known as sampling error, and its 

variability is measured by the standard error of the 

estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level 

of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will 

differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the 

true population value because of sampling error. BLS 

analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent 

level of confidence.

 The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling 

error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, 

including the failure to sample a segment of the 

population, inability to obtain information for all 

respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness 

of respondents to provide correct information, and 

errors made in the collection or processing of the data.

 Additional information about the reliability of data 

from the CPS and estimating standard errors is 

available at

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

 CPS estimates are controlled to population totals 

that are available by age, sex, race, and Hispanic 

ethnicity. These controls are developed by the Census 

Bureau and are based on complete population counts 

obtained in the decennial census. In the years between 

decennial censuses, they incorporate the latest 

information about population change (births, deaths, 

and net international migration). As part of its annual 

update of population estimates, the Census Bureau 

introduces adjustments to the total population 

controls. The updated controls typically have a 

negligible impact on unemployment rates and other 

ratios. The estimates of the population of persons with 

a disability are not controlled to independent 

population totals of persons with a disability because 

such data are not available. Without independent 

population totals, sample-based estimates are more 

apt to vary from one time period to the next. 

Information about population controls is available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

Disability questions and concepts

 The CPS uses a set of six questions to identify 

persons with disabilities. In the CPS, persons are 

classified as having a disability if there is a response 

of "yes" to any of these questions. The disability 

questions appear in the CPS in the following format:

 This month we want to learn about people who have 

physical, mental, or emotional conditions that cause 

serious difficulty with their daily activities. Please 

answer for household members who are 15 years and 

over.

• Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious 

difficulty hearing?

• Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious 

difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?

• Because of a physical, mental, or emotional 

condition, does anyone have serious 

difficulty concentrating, remembering, or 

making decisions?

• Does anyone have serious difficulty walking 

or climbing stairs?

• Does anyone have difficulty dressing or 

bathing?
• Because of a physical, mental, or emotional 

condition, does anyone have difficulty doing 

errands alone such as visiting a doctor's 

office or shopping?

 The CPS questions for identifying individuals with 

disabilities are only asked of household members who 

are age 15 and over. Each of the questions ask the 

respondent whether anyone in the household has the 

condition described, and if the respondent replies 

"yes," they are then asked to identify everyone in the 

household who has the condition. Labor force 

measures from the CPS are tabulated for persons age 

16 and over. More information on the disability 

questions and the limitations of the CPS disability

data is available on the BLS website at 

www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability_faq.htm.

Other definitions

 Other definitions used in this release are described 

briefly below. Additional information on the concepts 

and methodology of the CPS is available at

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

 Employed. Employed persons are all those who, 

during the survey reference week, (a) did any work at 

all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own 

business, profession, or on their own farm; or (c) 

worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a 

family member's business. Persons who were 

temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, 

bad weather, vacation, labor dispute, or another 

reason also are counted as employed.

 Unemployed. Unemployed persons are those who 

had no employment during the reference week, were 

available for work at that time, and had made specific 

efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-

week period ending with the reference week. Persons 

who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which 

they had been laid off need not have been looking for 

work to be classified as unemployed.

 Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force

comprises all persons classified as employed or 

unemployed.

 Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate

represents the number of unemployed persons as a 

percent of the civilian labor force.

 Not in the labor force. Persons not in the labor force

include all those who are not classified as employed 

or unemployed. Information is collected on their 

desire for and availability to take a job at the time of 

the CPS interview, job search activity in the prior 

year, and reason for not looking in the 4-week period 

ending with the reference week. This group includes 

individuals marginally attached to the labor force, 

defined as persons not in the labor force who want and 

are available for a job and who have looked for work 

sometime in the past 12 months (or since the end of 

their last job if they held one within the past 12 

months). They are not counted as unemployed 

because they had not actively searched for work in the 

prior 4 weeks. Within the marginally attached group 

are discouraged workers—persons who are not 

currently looking for work because they believe there 

are no jobs available or there are none for which they 

would qualify. The other persons marginally attached 

to the labor force group includes persons who want a 

job but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks 

for reasons such as family responsibilities or 

transportation problems.

 Part time for economic reasons. Persons classified 

as at work part time for economic reasons, a measure 

sometimes referred to as involuntary part time, are 

those who gave an economic reason for working 1 to 

34 hours during the reference week. Economic 

reasons include slack work or unfavorable business

conditions, inability to find full-time work, and 

seasonal declines in demand. Those who usually work 

part time must also indicate that they want and are 

available for full-time work to be classified as part 

time for economic reasons.

 Occupation, industry, and class of worker. The 

occupation, industry, and class of worker 

classifications for the employed relate to the job held 

in the survey reference week. Persons with two or 

more jobs are classified in the job at which they 

worked the greatest number of hours. Persons are 

classified using the 2018 Census occupational and 

2017 Census industry classification systems. The 

class-of-worker breakdown assigns workers to the 

following categories: private and government wage 

and salary workers, self-employed workers, and 

unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers

receive wages, salary, commissions, tips, or pay in 

kind from a private employer or from a government

unit. Self-employed persons are those who work for 

profit or fees in their own business, profession, trade, 

or farm. Only the unincorporated self-employed are

included in the self-employed category. Selfemployed persons who respond that their businesses 

are incorporated are included among wage and salary 

workers. Unpaid family workers are persons working 

without pay for 15 hours a week or more on a farm or 

in a business operated by a family member in their

household. 
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by disability status and selected

characteristics, 2021 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Not in

labor

Total force

Participation

rate

Employed Unemployed

Total Percent of

population Total Rate

TOTAL

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261,445 161,204 61.7 152,581 58.4 8,623 5.3 100,241

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126,487 85,505 67.6 80,829 63.9 4,676 5.5 40,983

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134,958 75,699 56.1 71,752 53.2 3,948 5.2 59,259

PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,084 6,619 21.3 5,950 19.1 669 10.1 24,465

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,506 3,483 24.0 3,132 21.6 351 10.1 11,023

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,578 3,136 18.9 2,818 17.0 318 10.1 13,442

Age

16 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,586 5,477 35.1 4,886 31.4 591 10.8 10,108

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762 185 24.3 146 19.1 39 21.1 577

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,021 477 46.7 398 39.0 79 16.5 544

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,230 1,080 48.4 941 42.2 139 12.9 1,150

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,307 989 42.9 884 38.3 105 10.6 1,318

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,231 1,163 36.0 1,050 32.5 113 9.7 2,068

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,035 1,584 26.2 1,467 24.3 117 7.4 4,451

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,498 1,142 7.4 1,063 6.9 78 6.8 14,357

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,644 5,335 21.6 4,839 19.6 497 9.3 19,309

Black or African American. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,267 777 18.2 659 15.4 118 15.1 3,490

Asian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 947 168 17.7 154 16.2 14 8.5 779

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,852 947 24.6 821 21.3 126 13.3 2,904

Educational attainment

Total, 25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,301 5,957 20.3 5,405 18.4 551 9.3 23,344

Less than a high school diploma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,654 443 9.5 374 8.0 69 15.7 4,211

High school graduates, no college1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,596 1,740 16.4 1,548 14.6 192 11.0 8,856

Some college or associate degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,962 1,966 24.7 1,799 22.6 167 8.5 5,997

Bachelor’s degree and higher2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,088 1,808 29.7 1,685 27.7 123 6.8 4,280

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230,361 154,585 67.1 146,631 63.7 7,954 5.1 75,776

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111,982 82,022 73.2 77,697 69.4 4,325 5.3 29,960

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118,380 72,563 61.3 68,934 58.2 3,629 5.0 45,816

Age

16 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189,669 145,127 76.5 137,567 72.5 7,560 5.2 44,542

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,691 5,777 36.8 5,120 32.6 657 11.4 9,914

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,788 14,248 72.0 13,010 65.7 1,238 8.7 5,539

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,521 35,590 83.7 33,637 79.1 1,953 5.5 6,931

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,536 33,332 84.3 31,851 80.6 1,481 4.4 6,204

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,283 30,714 84.7 29,504 81.3 1,210 3.9 5,569

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,850 25,466 71.0 24,445 68.2 1,021 4.0 10,384

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,692 9,458 23.2 9,064 22.3 394 4.2 31,234

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177,237 118,809 67.0 113,452 64.0 5,357 4.5 58,428

Black or African American. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,347 19,706 67.1 18,067 61.6 1,639 8.3 9,641

Asian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,574 10,377 66.6 9,862 63.3 514 5.0 5,197

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,051 28,476 69.4 26,608 64.8 1,869 6.6 12,574

Educational attainment

Total, 25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,882 134,560 69.0 128,501 65.9 6,059 4.5 60,323

Less than a high school diploma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,349 8,564 55.8 7,890 51.4 674 7.9 6,784

High school graduates, no college1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,638 33,254 63.2 31,273 59.4 1,981 6.0 19,383

Some college or associate degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,692 33,722 69.3 32,056 65.8 1,666 4.9 14,970

Bachelor’s degree and higher2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,204 59,019 75.5 57,282 73.2 1,738 2.9 19,185

1

Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.

2

Includes persons with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons

whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
Table 2. Employed full- and part-time workers by disability status and age, 2021 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Disability status and age

Employed At work

part time for

economic

reasons1

Total

Usually

work

full time

Usually

work

part time

TOTAL

16 years and over........................................................................ 152,581 127,159 25,421 4,914

16 to 64 years.......................................................................... 142,453 120,525 21,928 4,653

65 years and over...................................................................... 10,127 6,634 3,493 261

Persons with a disability

16 years and over........................................................................ 5,950 4,212 1,738 254

16 to 64 years.......................................................................... 4,886 3,619 1,267 228

65 years and over...................................................................... 1,063 592 471 26

Persons with no disability

16 years and over........................................................................ 146,631 122,948 23,683 4,660

16 to 64 years.......................................................................... 137,567 116,906 20,661 4,425

65 years and over...................................................................... 9,064 6,042 3,022 235

1 Refers to persons who, whether they usually work full or part time, worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as

slack work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand. Persons who usually work part time

for an economic reason, but worked 35 hours or more during the reference week are excluded. Also excludes employed persons who were absent

from their jobs for the entire reference week.

NOTE: Full time refers to persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week; part time refers to persons who usually work less than 35 hours per

week.
Table 3. Employed persons by disability status, occupation, and sex, 2021 annual averages

[Percent distribution]

Occupation

Persons with a disability Persons with no disability

Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total employed (in thousands)....................................... 5,950 3,132 2,818 146,631 77,697 68,934

Occupation as a percent of total employed

Total employed......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Management, professional, and related occupations........... 36.5 34.5 38.8 42.7 38.6 47.2

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations..................................................... 15.9 17.5 14.2 18.4 18.9 17.7

Management occupations.................................... 11.2 13.3 8.8 12.5 13.9 10.9

Business and financial operations occupations............ 4.7 4.1 5.4 5.9 5.0 6.8

Professional and related occupations.......................... 20.6 17.0 24.5 24.3 19.7 29.5

Computer and mathematical occupations.................. 3.0 4.4 1.5 3.8 5.2 2.1

Architecture and engineering occupations.................. 1.6 2.3 0.9 2.1 3.3 0.8

Life, physical, and social science occupations............. 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.1

Community and social service occupations................ 2.0 1.2 2.8 1.8 1.1 2.6

Legal occupations............................................. 1.0 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.4

Education, training, and library occupations................ 5.3 2.7 8.1 5.9 2.9 9.2

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations.................................................. 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.0 1.9 2.2

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations....... 4.4 2.3 6.7 6.4 3.1 10.1

Service occupations................................................ 18.2 14.9 21.8 15.9 12.7 19.5

Healthcare support occupations................................ 3.9 1.1 7.0 3.2 0.9 5.7

Protective service occupations................................. 1.8 2.5 1.0 2.0 2.8 1.0

Food preparation and serving related occupations.......... 5.3 4.7 6.0 4.8 4.1 5.6

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations..................................................... 5.0 5.8 4.0 3.5 3.9 3.1

Personal care and service occupations....................... 2.2 0.8 3.8 2.4 1.0 4.0

Sales and office occupations...................................... 21.4 14.2 29.6 19.7 14.4 25.7

Sales and related occupations.................................. 10.0 8.5 11.6 9.4 9.0 9.9

Office and administrative support occupations............... 11.5 5.7 17.9 10.3 5.4 15.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations........................................................ 9.3 16.0 1.8 9.1 16.3 1.1

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.................... 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.7 1.0 0.4

Construction and extraction occupations...................... 4.7 8.1 0.9 5.3 9.6 0.4

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations........... 3.9 6.9 0.6 3.1 5.7 0.3

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations........................................................ 14.6 20.4 8.1 12.6 18.0 6.5

Production occupations.......................................... 5.9 8.0 3.6 5.2 7.0 3.1

Transportation and material moving occupations............ 8.7 12.5 4.5 7.4 11.0 3.4
Table 4. Employed persons by disability status, industry, class of worker, and sex, 2021 annual averages

[Percent distribution]

Industry and class of worker

Persons with a disability Persons with no disability

Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total employed (in thousands)....................................... 5,950 3,132 2,818 146,631 77,697 68,934

Industry as a percent of total employed

Total employed......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Agriculture and related industries................................. 2.5 3.3 1.5 1.5 2.0 0.9

Nonagricultural industries.......................................... 97.5 96.7 98.5 98.5 98.0 99.1

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction................. 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.1

Construction....................................................... 6.6 10.5 2.2 7.4 12.5 1.7

Manufacturing..................................................... 9.7 13.2 5.9 9.6 12.9 6.0

Wholesale trade.................................................. 1.9 2.5 1.2 2.3 3.0 1.4

Retail trade........................................................ 13.0 12.4 13.7 10.5 10.2 10.9

Transportation and utilities...................................... 6.2 8.0 4.1 6.1 8.8 3.2

Information........................................................ 1.3 1.7 0.9 1.8 2.1 1.5

Financial activities................................................ 6.6 6.3 6.9 7.0 6.4 7.8

Professional and business services............................ 12.3 12.8 11.7 12.7 13.7 11.4

Education and health services.................................. 20.7 11.1 31.4 22.8 11.0 36.1

Leisure and hospitality........................................... 8.7 8.3 9.1 8.3 7.7 9.0

Other services.................................................... 5.0 4.5 5.5 4.7 4.3 5.2

Public administration............................................. 5.3 5.0 5.7 4.8 4.9 4.7

Class of worker as a percent of total employed

Total employed1

........................................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Wage and salary workers2

......................................... 90.3 89.5 91.3 93.5 92.8 94.4

Private industries................................................. 76.5 77.6 75.2 80.0 81.8 77.9

Government....................................................... 13.9 11.8 16.1 13.6 10.9 16.5

Federal.......................................................... 3.1 3.2 3.1 2.5 2.6 2.4

State............................................................. 4.9 3.9 6.1 4.5 3.3 5.9

Local............................................................. 5.8 4.8 6.9 6.5 5.0 8.2

Self-employed workers, unincorporated.......................... 9.6 10.4 8.6 6.4 7.2 5.5

1

Includes a small number of unpaid family workers, not shown separately.

2

Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated.
Table 5. Persons not in the labor force by disability status, age, and sex, 2021 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Category

Total,

16 years and

over

16 to 64 years Total,

65 years and

Total Men Women over

PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY

Total not in the labor force.................................................... 24,465 10,108 4,890 5,218 14,357

Persons who currently want a job......................................... 735 510 257 253 225

Marginally attached to the labor force1

................................. 194 157 88 68 37

Discouraged workers2................................................. 44 36 23 13 8

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force3............ 150 120 65 55 30

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Total not in the labor force.................................................... 75,776 44,542 16,705 27,837 31,234

Persons who currently want a job......................................... 5,594 4,960 2,323 2,637 635

Marginally attached to the labor force1

................................. 1,588 1,470 785 685 118

Discouraged workers2................................................. 466 424 264 161 42

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force3............ 1,122 1,046 522 524 76

1 Data refer to persons who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference

week, but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks.

2

Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks

schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of discrimination.

3

Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and

transportation problems, as well as a number for whom reason for nonparticipation was not determined.