From: "AFB DirectConnect

Interpreting Bureau of Labor Statistics Vision Loss Data


For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is tracking employment rates among people with disabilities on a monthly basis. Beginning in January 2009, six questions regarding disabilities were added to the Current Population Survey, (CPS), a monthly survey created by the federal government to estimate the employment status of people in the United States.

This can be a great resource for the disability community, as we will now have monthly reports on employment statistics pertaining exclusively to people with disabilities, something we haven't had before. Upon special request, anyone who is interested can receive the monthly employment data by specific type of disability. The BLS web site only reports the employment status for people identified with a disability of any kind. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has requested the disability-specific employment information from this monthly survey as it pertains to vision loss and posted this information in the Statistical Snapshots section of AFB's web site.

While we are excited for this new information, AFB is asking that the unemployment rates among people with disabilities be examined with caution

since the 13.2% reported by the January 2009 BLS data is dangerously misleading.

A closer examination of the data reveals the following facts, which more accurately depict employment status among people with disabilities.

• 77% of survey participants with a disability were identified as "not in the labor force."
(Note: People who were identified as "not in the labor force" were not actively looking for work during the reported month, and thus not included in the reported unemployment rate, even though they were not employed.)

• 13.2% of survey participants with disabilities are unemployed.
This number does not include the 77% of participants with disabilities identified as "not in the labor force."

• 75% of survey participants with vision loss were identified as "not in the labor force."
(See note below explaining how people are defined as having vision loss.)

• 8.6% of survey participants with vision loss are unemployed.
This number does not include the 75% of participants identified as "not in the labor force."

Note: The BLS defines people with vision loss as anyone 16 years of age and older in the civilian noninstitutional population who answered "yes" to the question:
"Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?"

The 77% of people with disabilities not included in the labor force and the 75% of people with vision loss not included in the labor force are both strikingly similar to the 70% number that most disability organizations have been reporting for years. AFB hopes that these findings continue to underscore the need for additional services and resources for people with disabilities, job training programs, accessible technology, etc. Given the tough economic climate and current overall employment status in our country, it is more important now than ever that we address the needs of people with disabilities.

To view AFB's full report about the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey as well as the disability-specific vision loss employment data, visit: www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=15&SubTopicID=177. To access the area of the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site that is reporting the new monthly data series on the employment status of people with a disability, go to: www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability.htm.

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