The unemployment rate for persons with a disability was 15.0 percent in 2011, well above the figure of 8.7 percent for those with no disability, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports; in 2011, the employment-population ratio was 17.8 percent for persons with a disability, while among those with no disability, the ratio was 63.6 percent.

From 2010 to 2011, the employment-population ratio for persons with a disability fell from 18.6 percent to 17.8 percent, while the ratio for persons without a disability was little changed, BLDS says. Among persons with a disability, the employment-population ratio for those age 16 to 64 declined (from 28.6 percent to 27.0 percent), while the ratio for those age 65 and over rose (from 6.1 percent to 6.4 percent).

The lower ratio among persons with a disability is due, in part, to the fact that a large share of the population of persons with a disability was age 65 and older, and older workers in general are less likely to be employed, BLS says. However, across all age groups, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than those with no disability.