Shaw Trust Industries, Middlesbrough
The following is according to the UK's Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey, Sept - Dec 2006, for people of working age only.
- Nearly one in five people of working age (6.9 million, or 19%) in Great Britain are disabled
- Only about half of disabled people of working age are in work (50%), compared with 80% of non disabled people of working age
- Almost half (45%) of the disabled population of working age in Britain are economically inactive i.e. outside of the labour force. Only 16% of non-disabled people of working age are economically inactive
- There are currently 1.2 million disabled people in the UK who are available for and want to work.
- Employment rates vary greatly according to the type of impairment a person has. Disabled people with mental health problems have the lowest employment rates of all impairment categories at only 21%. The employment rate for people with learning disabilities is 26%.
- Disabled people are more than twice as likely as non-disabled people to have no qualifications (26% as opposed to 10%)
- The average gross hourly pay for disabled employees is £10.31 compared to £11.39 for non disabled employees.
| Non-disabled people | Disabled people | |
| Total | 29,710,306 | 6,941,935 |
| In employment | 23,871,969 | 3,450,982 |
| ILO unemployed | 1,257,765 | 332,437 |
| Economically inactive | 4,580,572 | 3,158,516 |
| Economically inactive who 'would like to work' | 1,118,308 | 906,424 |
| Main impairment | % in employment |
| Diabetes | 67 |
| Difficulty in hearing | 59 |
| Skin conditions, allergies | 63.3 |
| Chest/breathing problems | 62.8 |
| Heart, blood pressure/circulation problems | 58.7 |
| Difficulty in seeing | 48.5 |
| Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems | 59.7 |
| Other health problems or disabilities | 53.5 |
| Arms or hands | 52 |
| Back or neck | 48.7 |
| Legs or feet | 45.4 |
| Epilepsy | 43.6 |
| Speech impediment | 19.2 |
| Progressive illness not included elsewhere | 42.1 |
| Learning difficulties | 25.7 |
| Depression, bad nerves or anxiety | 25.8 |
| Mental illness, phobias, panics or other nervous disorders | 13.3 |
Definitions:
Labour Force Survey: The LFS is the largest regular household survey in the UK. In any three month period, a nationally representative sample of approximately 120,000 people aged 16 or over in around 61,000 households are interviewed. Interviews are carried out continuously throughout the year and results are published monthly or quarterly. The LFS uses concepts and definitions agreed by the ILO.
ILO unemployed: The International Labour Organisation definition of unemployment covers people who are: out of work, want a job, have actively sought work in the previous four weeks and are available to start work within the next fortnight; or out of work and have accepted a job that they are waiting to start in the next fortnight.
Available for and want to work: This includes those who are ILO unemployed and those who are economically inactive and would like to work. The percentage totals are a % of the inactive population, not the total working age population.
