Celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month is observed annually in October, recognizing people with disabilities' essential roles in a diverse and inclusive American workforce. For Connecticut, we were curious about how diverse and inclusive our workforce was within the state.
From the American Community Survey, 5-year estimates for 2016-2020, we looked at three data tables for Connecticut's population with a disability: population, employment, and median earnings. Below are some of the highlights from the data.
Included are links to the data tables so you can explore them on your own or you can explore additional data tables on the Census Bureau’s page.
Population Size
First, we looked at the size of the population living with disabilities in Connecticut (Census Table S1810). There are approximately 398,550 people, or 11% of the population of Connecticut, who identify as having a disability living in Connecticut.
Nearly half (48%) of the people in Connecticut with a disability had ambulatory difficulty, and 39% had cognitive difficulty.
The percentage of the population with a disability increase with age. In Connecticut, 1% of people under 5 years old have had an identified disability, while 44% of the population 75 years and older identifies as having a disability.
Females and males have a similar rate of disability, at 12% for females and 11% for males.
Employment Status by Disability Status
In Connecticut, 5% of the labor force are people with a disability. (US Census Bureau, ACS Table C18120).
Out of the eight counties, Middlesex has the highest percentage of people with a disability in the labor force at 54%, as well as the highest percentage who are employed in the labor force at 91%.
Tolland county has the highest percentage of unemployed people with a disability at 20% compared to Middlesex County with the lowest unemployment at 9%.
In Windham County, 43% of people with a disability are in the labor force, the lowest among all nine counties.
In 2020, Connecticut’s median earning for males with a disability was $32,722 compared to $29,909 nationally (US Census Bureau, ACS Table B18140). Median earnings for females with a disability in Connecticut was $21,978 just $934 more than the national median of $21,044.
Of the civilian non-institutionalized population 16 years and over with earnings in the past 12 months in Connecticut:
The median income among people without a disability is $17,865 higher than those with a disability.
The median income among males with a disability is 49% higher than that of females with a disability. The median income among males without a disability is 43% higher than females without.
The median income among males without a disability is 61% higher than males with, and among females, it is 68% higher among females without a disability compared to females with a disability.
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