400 more disabled people in work every day
There is a year-on-year increase of the number of disabled people in work of more than 141,000 and 86,000 more disabled women in work.
New statistics reveal a year-on-year increase of 141,000 disabled people in work – the equivalent of nearly 400 more for every day of the year.
Minister of State for Disabled People Mark Harper hailed the figures as further evidence of the UK’s jobs miracle.
According to Office of National Statistics figures, more than 3.1 million disabled people are in employment with the number of unemployed disabled people falling by 10.9% since last year to just over 399,000.
The number of disabled women in employment has also risen by 86,000 over the past year, a 5.5% increase on last year’s figures which brings the total number of disabled women in employment up to more than 1.6 million.
Minister of State for Disabled People, Mark Harper said:
Our welfare reforms are about helping disabled people move into work and having the security of a regular wage.
These figures demonstrate how the UK jobs miracle is benefiting everybody in Britain and it is fantastic that there are now an additional 141,000 disabled people in work since this time last year.
I am also encouraged by the positive figures for the increasing number of disabled women in employment – 86,000, which would pretty much fill Wembley Stadium. It is clear that more and more companies across the country are waking up to the considerable talents of disabled people in the workplace.
Through its Disability Confident campaign, the government is working with employers to remove barriers, increase understanding and ensure that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
In a 2013 survey, 42% of disabled people looking for work said one of the biggest barriers they faced was the attitude of employers.
Disability Confident is about working with employers to raise the profile of disability employment and tackling those misconceptions.
Firms such as Asda, Barclays and BT are among the hundreds to have signed up and Disability Confident events are being held across the country, including by MPs.
Disabled employment in numbers
The number of disabled people in employment is now over 3.1 million.
The employment rate for disabled people has risen by 1.4 percentage points compared with quarter 4 (October to December) of 2013.
The employment rate for disabled people is 45.6% compared to 79.4% for those not classified as Equality Act core disabled and/or work-limiting disabled (excluding those who did not state their health situation).
The ‘Purple Pound’
The ‘Purple Pound’, representing the total annual net income after housing costs of households containing a disabled person, was estimated at around £212 billion in 2012/13, and many employers have found that a good representation of disabled staff is the key to connecting with disabled customers.
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