a census bureau report - employed disabled adults - Brief Article

Accent on Living, Summer, 2001

Only 50% of disabled adults have jobs and they typically earn less than the average American, according to a census bureau report. The disparity is worse among people whose disabilities are considered 'severe." Of the 27.8 million disabled people from age 21 to 64, half had worked in 1997 with average earnings of $23,373.

Of those with severe disabilities in the same age category, 31 percent had a job, with average earnings of $18,631. By comparison, 78 percent of all Americans, age 21 to 64, averaged $30,155 a year.