For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, June 12, 2013 USDL-13-1141 

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 — 2012 

In 2012, 17.8 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for persons without a disability was 63.9 

percent. The employment-population ratio for persons with a disability was unchanged from 2011 to 

2012, while the ratio for persons without a disability increased. The unemployment rate for persons with 

a disability was 13.4 percent in 2012, higher than the rate for persons with no disability (7.9 percent). 

The jobless rates for both groups declined from 2011 to 2012. 

The 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 information on employment and 

unemployment in the United States. The collection of 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. 

Highlights from the 2012 data: 

 Persons with a disability were over three times as likely as those with no disability to be age 65 

and over. (See table 1.) 

 For all age groups, the employment-population ratio was much lower for persons with a 

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

 The unemployment rate for persons with a disability declined from 2011 to 2012. The rate for 

persons without a disability also fell over the year. (See table A.) 

 In 2012, 33 percent of workers with a disability were employed part time, compared with 19 

percent of 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 

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

incidence of disability with age. In 2012, 46 percent of persons with a disability were age 65 and over, 

compared with 13 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. Among the major race 

and ethnicity groups, the prevalence of a disability was higher for blacks and whites than for Asians and 

Hispanics. (See table 1.) 

Employment 

The employment-population ratio for persons with a disability was 17.8 percent in 2012, unchanged 

from 2011. The ratio for those with no disability increased from 63.6 percent to 63.9 percent. The lower 

ratio among persons with a disability is due, in part, to the fact that a large share of the population of 

persons with a disability was age 65 and older, and older persons are less likely to be employed. 

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.) 

Among persons with a disability age 65 and over, the employment-population ratio rose to 6.9 percent in 

2012, while the ratio for persons age 16 to 64 with a disability held at 27.0 percent. For persons without 

a disability, the ratios for both age groups increased from 2011 to 2012. (See table A.) 

In 2012, persons with a disability with higher levels of education were more likely to be employed than 

those with less education. At all levels of education, persons with a disability were much less likely to be 

employed than were their counterparts with no disability. (See table 1.) 

Workers with a disability were more likely than those with no disability to work part time. Among 

workers with a disability, 33 percent usually worked part time in 2012, compared with 19 percent of 

workers without a disability. The proportion of workers who were employed part time for economic 

reasons was slightly higher among those with a disability than among those without a disability (7 

percent versus 6 percent). These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut 

back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table 2.) 

In 2012, workers with a disability were more likely than those with no disability to work in production, 

transportation, and materials moving occupations (16 percent compared with 12 percent). Those with a 

disability were less likely than those with no disability to work in management, professional, and related 

occupations (32 percent compared with 38 percent). (See table 3.) 

The share of workers with a disability employed in federal, state, and local government (15 percent) was 

about the same as the share for those with no disability (14 percent). Workers with a disability were less 

likely than those with no disability to be employed in private wage and salary jobs (73 percent versus 79 

percent). The incidence of self-employment among workers with a disability was higher than among 

workers with no disability (11 percent versus 7 percent). (See table 4.) 

Unemployment 

The unemployment rate for persons with a disability was 13.4 percent in 2012, higher than the rate for 

persons with no disability (7.9 percent). (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 rates for both persons with a disability and those without a disability were lower in 2012 

than in the prior year. (See table A.) 

In 2012, the unemployment rate for men with a disability (13.2 percent) was about the same as the rate 

for women (13.7 percent). As is the case among those without a disability, the unemployment rates in 
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2012 for those with a disability were higher among blacks (20.8 percent) and Hispanics (19.0 percent) 

than among whites (12.3 percent) and Asians (11.8 percent). (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 2012, compared with about 3 in 

10 persons with no disability. In part, this reflects the fact that persons with a disability tend to be much 

older than those without a disability, and older persons are, in general, less likely to be labor force 

participants. However, for all age groups, persons with a disability were more likely than those with no 

disability to be out of the labor force. (See table 1.) 

Among those not in the labor force, 1 percent of those with a disability were marginally attached to the 

labor force in 2012, compared with 3 percent of those with no disability. These individuals were not in 

the labor force, wanted and were available for 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. 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. (See table 5.) 
Table A. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by disability status and age, 2011 and

2012 annual averages

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

2011 2012

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.................................... 27,382 15,047 12,335 28,251 15,339 12,912

Civilian labor force................................................... 5,722 4,854 868 5,816 4,854 961

Participation rate................................................... 20.9 32.3 7.0 20.6 31.6 7.4

Employed........................................................... 4,861 4,067 794 5,037 4,146 890

Employment-population ratio.................................. 17.8 27.0 6.4 17.8 27.0 6.9

Unemployed........................................................ 861 787 74 779 708 71

Unemployment rate............................................. 15.0 16.2 8.5 13.4 14.6 7.4

Not in labor force..................................................... 21,659 10,192 11,467 22,435 10,484 11,951

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Civilian noninstitutional population.................................... 212,236 184,842 27,394 215,034 186,077 28,957

Civilian labor force................................................... 147,894 141,650 6,244 149,159 142,393 6,766

Participation rate................................................... 69.7 76.6 22.8 69.4 76.5 23.4

Employed........................................................... 135,008 129,155 5,853 137,433 131,078 6,355

Employment-population ratio.................................. 63.6 69.9 21.4 63.9 70.4 21.9

Unemployed........................................................ 12,886 12,495 391 11,727 11,315 411

Unemployment rate............................................. 8.7 8.8 6.3 7.9 7.9 6.1

Not in labor force..................................................... 64,342 43,192 21,150 65,875 43,683 22,191

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 older. 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. 

 Information in this release will be made available 

to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 

(800) 877-8339. 

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 on the BLS website 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 older. 

 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 older. 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 older. 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; (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. 

 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 2010 Census occupational and 

2007 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, 2012 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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243,284 154,975 63.7 142,469 58.6 12,506 8.1 88,310

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117,343 82,327 70.2 75,555 64.4 6,771 8.2 35,017

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125,941 72,648 57.7 66,914 53.1 5,734 7.9 53,293

PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,251 5,816 20.6 5,037 17.8 779 13.4 22,435

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,929 3,190 24.7 2,770 21.4 420 13.2 9,739

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,322 2,626 17.1 2,267 14.8 359 13.7 12,696

Age

16 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,339 4,854 31.6 4,146 27.0 708 14.6 10,484

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626 139 22.3 85 13.6 54 38.7 486

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777 309 39.8 223 28.8 86 27.7 468

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,652 699 42.3 574 34.7 126 18.0 953

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,183 810 37.1 682 31.2 128 15.8 1,373

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,182 1,309 31.3 1,144 27.3 165 12.6 2,873

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,919 1,588 26.8 1,438 24.3 150 9.4 4,332

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,912 961 7.4 890 6.9 71 7.4 11,951

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,854 4,820 21.1 4,228 18.5 592 12.3 18,035

Black or African American. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,732 635 17.0 503 13.5 132 20.8 3,097

Asian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709 125 17.7 111 15.6 15 11.8 583

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,813 563 20.0 456 16.2 107 19.0 2,250

Educational attainment

Total, 25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,848 5,367 20.0 4,728 17.6 640 11.9 21,481

Less than a high school diploma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,109 599 9.8 500 8.2 99 16.5 5,509

High school graduates, no college1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,851 1,726 17.5 1,518 15.4 208 12.1 8,126

Some college or associate degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,649 1,726 26.0 1,507 22.7 219 12.7 4,922

Bachelor’s degree and higher2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,239 1,316 31.0 1,203 28.4 113 8.6 2,923

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215,034 149,159 69.4 137,433 63.9 11,727 7.9 65,875

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,415 79,137 75.8 72,785 69.7 6,352 8.0 25,278

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,619 70,022 63.3 64,647 58.4 5,375 7.7 40,597

Age

16 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186,077 142,393 76.5 131,078 70.4 11,315 7.9 43,683

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,359 5,684 34.7 4,341 26.5 1,343 23.6 10,675

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,022 15,153 72.1 13,185 62.7 1,968 13.0 5,869

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,323 32,766 83.3 30,127 76.6 2,639 8.1 6,557

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,459 31,924 85.2 29,894 79.8 2,030 6.4 5,535

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,516 33,745 85.4 31,730 80.3 2,015 6.0 5,770

55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,398 23,122 71.4 21,801 67.3 1,321 5.7 9,276

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,957 6,766 23.4 6,355 21.9 411 6.1 22,191

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170,350 118,865 69.8 110,541 64.9 8,324 7.0 51,485

Black or African American. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,176 17,765 67.9 15,353 58.7 2,412 13.6 8,411

Asian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,107 8,062 66.6 7,594 62.7 468 5.8 4,044

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,945 23,828 70.2 21,421 63.1 2,406 10.1 10,118

Educational attainment

Total, 25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177,653 128,323 72.2 119,907 67.5 8,415 6.6 49,330

Less than a high school diploma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,773 10,729 57.2 9,423 50.2 1,306 12.2 8,044

High school graduates, no college1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,961 35,046 67.4 32,201 62.0 2,845 8.1 16,915

Some college or associate degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,645 35,634 74.8 33,198 69.7 2,435 6.8 12,012

Bachelor’s degree and higher2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,275 46,914 79.1 45,085 76.1 1,829 3.9 12,360

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, 2012 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......................................................................... 142,469 114,809 27,661 8,122

16 to 64 years........................................................................... 135,224 110,589 24,635 7,850

65 years and over....................................................................... 7,245 4,220 3,025 272

Persons with a disability

16 years and over......................................................................... 5,037 3,366 1,670 362

16 to 64 years........................................................................... 4,146 2,933 1,213 325

65 years and over....................................................................... 890 433 457 37

Persons with no disability

16 years and over......................................................................... 137,433 111,442 25,990 7,760

16 to 64 years........................................................................... 131,078 107,656 23,422 7,525

65 years and over....................................................................... 6,355 3,787 2,568 235

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, 2012 annual averages

[Percent distribution]

Occupation

Persons with a disability Persons with no disability

Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total employed (in thousands)........................................ 5,037 2,770 2,267 137,433 72,785 64,647

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............ 32.2 30.9 33.8 38.1 34.8 41.9

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations...................................................... 14.3 16.2 11.9 16.0 16.9 14.9

Management occupations...................................... 10.8 13.2 7.8 11.3 13.0 9.3

Business and financial operations occupations............. 3.5 3.0 4.1 4.7 3.9 5.6

Professional and related occupations........................... 17.9 14.7 21.8 22.2 17.9 27.0

Computer and mathematical occupations................... 2.0 2.4 1.4 2.7 3.8 1.5

Architecture and engineering occupations................... 1.6 2.8 0.2 2.0 3.3 0.6

Life, physical, and social science occupations.............. 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.9

Community and social service occupations................. 1.9 1.6 2.3 1.6 1.1 2.2

Legal occupations............................................... 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.4

Education, training, and library occupations................. 5.0 2.5 8.1 6.0 3.0 9.4

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

occupations................................................... 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.0

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations.......... 3.6 1.8 5.9 5.7 2.7 9.0

Service occupations.................................................. 20.0 15.5 25.5 17.8 14.7 21.3

Healthcare support occupations................................. 2.4 0.5 4.8 2.5 0.6 4.6

Protective service occupations................................... 2.2 3.1 1.2 2.2 3.2 1.0

Food preparation and serving related occupations............ 5.2 3.7 6.9 5.6 4.9 6.5

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

occupations...................................................... 6.1 6.9 5.2 3.8 4.5 3.2

Personal care and service occupations......................... 4.1 1.4 7.3 3.7 1.6 6.1

Sales and office occupations....................................... 23.5 16.0 32.7 23.3 16.8 30.6

Sales and related occupations................................... 10.4 9.5 11.5 10.9 10.5 11.3

Office and administrative support occupations................. 13.1 6.5 21.1 12.4 6.3 19.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations......................................................... 8.8 15.4 0.7 9.0 16.3 0.8

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations..................... 0.6 1.0 0.2 0.7 1.0 0.3

Construction and extraction occupations....................... 4.6 8.2 0.2 4.9 9.1 0.3

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations............. 3.5 6.2 0.2 3.4 6.2 0.2

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations... 15.5 22.1 7.4 11.8 17.4 5.5

Production occupations........................................... 7.7 10.5 4.3 5.9 8.0 3.5

Transportation and material moving occupations.............. 7.8 11.6 3.1 5.9 9.4 2.0
Table 4. Employed persons by disability status, industry, class of worker, and sex, 2012 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)........................................ 5,037 2,770 2,267 137,433 72,785 64,647

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.................................. 3.1 4.5 1.3 1.5 2.1 0.8

Nonagricultural industries........................................... 96.9 95.5 98.7 98.5 97.9 99.2

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.................. 0.7 1.2 0.2 0.7 1.1 0.2

Construction........................................................ 6.2 10.1 1.4 6.3 10.8 1.2

Manufacturing...................................................... 10.3 13.9 6.0 10.3 13.8 6.4

Wholesale trade.................................................... 2.1 2.8 1.3 2.6 3.5 1.6

Retail trade......................................................... 12.7 11.9 13.6 11.3 11.0 11.6

Transportation and utilities....................................... 5.3 7.4 2.8 5.1 7.4 2.5

Information.......................................................... 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.5 1.7

Financial activities................................................. 5.7 4.9 6.8 6.8 6.0 7.7

Professional and business services............................. 11.3 12.1 10.3 11.6 12.9 10.2

Education and health services................................... 21.7 12.1 33.4 22.7 10.9 36.1

Leisure and hospitality............................................ 8.1 7.1 9.4 9.3 8.6 10.0

Other services...................................................... 5.9 5.5 6.3 5.0 4.5 5.5

Public administration.............................................. 5.0 4.7 5.4 4.7 4.9 4.5

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

......................................... 88.5 86.8 90.5 93.4 92.4 94.5

Private industries.................................................. 73.0 73.8 72.1 79.1 80.8 77.2

Government........................................................ 15.4 13.0 18.4 14.3 11.6 17.3

Federal........................................................... 2.7 2.4 3.0 2.5 2.6 2.3

State.............................................................. 5.4 4.1 7.0 4.4 3.3 5.6

Local.............................................................. 7.3 6.4 8.4 7.4 5.6 9.4

Self-employed workers, unincorporated........................... 11.3 13.0 9.3 6.5 7.5 5.4

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, 2012 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..................................................... 22,435 10,484 4,959 5,525 11,951

Persons who currently want a job.......................................... 718 521 255 266 197

Marginally attached to the labor force1

................................. 229 189 101 88 40

Discouraged workers2.................................................. 67 53 31 22 15

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force3............ 162 136 71 66 26

PERSONS WITH NO DISABILITY

Total not in the labor force..................................................... 65,875 43,683 15,980 27,703 22,191

Persons who currently want a job.......................................... 5,840 5,260 2,404 2,856 580

Marginally attached to the labor force1

................................. 2,287 2,124 1,083 1,041 163

Discouraged workers2.................................................. 842 762 457 305 80

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force3............ 1,445 1,362 626 736 84

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.