Washington, D.C., March 28 – Amid a trend of nationwide job growth for people with disabilities, Minnesota is outperforming far bigger states like California and Texas. According a new report by the nonpartisan advocacy group RespectAbility, the North Star State now ranks 5th in the nation for employment of people with disabilities.…
Washington, D.C., March 28 – While nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 9,887 people with disabilities left Oregon’s workforce last year. Oregon now ranks 26th in the nation in terms of the state’s employment for people with disabilities. Out of the 288,493 working-age (18-64) Oregon residents disclosed living…
Washington, D.C., March 27 – While nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 1,014 Massachusetts residents with disabilities exited the workforce last year. Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, “After strong job growth for people with disabilities in the state, this is a very troubling development. People…
Washington, D.C., March 27 –Nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 5,760 of which went to Arizonans with disabilities. The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 428,198 working-age (ages 18-64) people with disabilities living in Arizona. Out of that number, only 156,194 have jobs. That means the…
Washington, D.C., March 27 – Nationwide 111,804 people with disabilities got new jobs last year, including 10,471 new jobs for Virginians with disabilities. Virginia now ranks 18th among the 50 states in terms of the Commonwealth’s employment rate for people with disabilities. The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there…
Washington, D.C., March 24 – While nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 708 people with disabilities in Delaware exited the workforce last year. “After strong job growth for people with disabilities the year before, this is a troubling development,” said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility. “People with disabilities…
Washington, D.C., March 24 – Nationwide 111,804 people with disabilities got new jobs last year, including 3,067 new jobs for Mainers with disabilities. Maine now ranks 36th in the nation in terms of the state’s employment rate for people with disabilities. Overall, there are 112,442 working-age (18-64) Maine residents living with…
Washington, D.C., March 23 – While nationally 111,084 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 2,875 people with disabilities left Mississippi’s workforce last year. Mississippi now ranks 48th in the nation for employment rates of people with disabilities. Out of the 265,344 working-age (18-64) Mississippi residents living with a disclosed disability,…
Washington, D.C., March 23 –While nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 810 people with disabilities left Hawaii’s workforce last year. Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, “After strong job growth for people with disabilities in the state, this is a troubling development. People with disabilities want the income…
Washington, D.C., March 22 –Nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities; 2,473 were Arkansans with disabilities who entered the workforce last year. The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 285,023 working-age (ages 18-64) people with disabilities living in Arkansas. Out of that number, only 87,920 have jobs.…
Washington, D.C., March 22 –While nationally 111,804 jobs were gained by people with disabilities, 3,769 people with disabilities in Alabama exited the workforce last year. The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 418,429 working-age (ages 18-64) people with disabilities living in Alabama. Out of that number, only 112,030 have…
Washington, D.C., March 8 – During the 2019 National Governors’ Association winter meeting, newly elected Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont vowed to do “everything we can to make sure” people with disabilities have “the absolute opportunity to work and thrive in our communities.”
The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 189,419 working-age people (ages 18-64) with disabilities living in Connecticut. Out of that number, 76,096 have jobs. That means the Nutmeg State has a disability employment rate of 40.2 percent. Further analysis by the nonpartisan advocacy group RespectAbility shows that Connecticut ranks 21st out of the 50 states for disability employment. Census Bureau data also shows that 1,381 people with disabilities entered the state’s workforce last year.
A group of families in Connecticut started a café called BeanZ & Co. with the intention of helping adults with intellectual disabilities find work. According to an estimate by the Arc, a nonprofit that provides assistance to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), more than 80 percent of people with I/DD struggle to find work because of their disability. BeanZ has adapted their equipment to accommodate employees and make everything as identifiable and accessible as possible. Efforts such as this are what have helped move Connecticut up in ranking from last year when it comes to jobs for people with disabilities.
Washington, D.C., March 7 – During the 2019 National Governors’ Association winter meeting, newly elected Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker vowed to make people with disabilities “one of the priorities” as he rebuilds his state’s policies and programs.
Speaking of the budgetary challenges created by his predecessor, Pritzker said, “services and programs, including some employment programs…just got wiped out.” He emphasized the need to “rebuild these services, many of the opportunities” that people with disabilities were using to enter Illinois’ economy.
In terms of making his state more inclusive of people with disabilities, Pritzker added, “You have to think of it as an entrepreneurial endeavor in the nonprofit world.”
The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 691,453 working-age people (ages 18-64) with disabilities living in Illinois. Out of that number, 263,464 Illinoisans with disabilities have jobs. That means the Prairie State has a disability employment rate of 38.1 percent. Further analysis by the nonpartisan advocacy group RespectAbility shows that Illinois ranks 25th out of the 50 states for disability employment. Census Bureau data also shows that Illinois saw the second biggest job gains for people with disabilities with more than 20,000 new jobs even as 50,000 people without disabilities left Illinois’ workforce.
Washington, D.C., March 7 – Gov. Kim Reynolds pointed out Iowa’s dedication to the disability community during the 2019 National Governor’s Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C. She also stressed the importance of including people with disabilities in the workforce.
“They’re some of our best workers, they absolutely are,” she said. “We’re at the lowest unemployment rate in the country and so we want to make sure that every Iowan has the opportunity to be successful and that’s a key piece of it.”
The newly published 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium shows there are 170,186 working-age (ages 18-64) people with disabilities living in Iowa. Out of that number, only 77,746 have jobs. The Hawkeye State currently has a 45.7 percent disability employment rate. Further analysis by the nonpartisan advocacy group RespectAbility shows that Iowa ranks 9th out of the 50 states. However, 2,670 Iowans with disabilities exited the workforce last year.
