Employment Experiences and Outcomes of Young Adults With Disabilities: Findings From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2

• In Event: Changes in the School and Postschool Experiences of Youth With Disabilities: Comparing NLTS (National Longitudinal Transition Study) and NLTS2

Abstract

The successful transition of students from school to adult life can be considered the ultimate outcome of the educational process, with employment featuring prominently in that notion of success. In fact, finding employment was the most frequently cited transition goal among youth with disabilities nationally (Cameto, Levine, & Wagner, 2004). Although employment statistics are gathered regularly for young adults generally, similar information for young adults with disabilities nationally is not regularly available. NLTS and NLTS2 fill this information gap.
This paper will begin by comparing NLTS and NLTS2 findings to document the employment experiences of youth with disabilities who were out of high school up to 4 years in 1990 and 2005, respectively (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, Knokey, & Shaver, 2010). Unfortunately, little change is noted. For example, youth with disabilities as a whole did not differ significantly between 1990 and 2005 in their reported employment status (62% and 56%, respectively), job duration (an average of 15 and 13 months), hours worked (38 and 35 hours a week on average) or their inflation-adjusted hourly wage ($9.10 and $9.00).
The presentation then will use NLTS2 data to describe the post-high school employment experiences nationally of young adults with disabilities who were ages 21-26 and out of high school up to 8 years. Descriptive findings regarding employment status and characteristics such as wages, hours worked, and benefits received will be presented for young adults with disabilities as a whole and compared with youth in the general population when data are available. For example, 60% of youth with disabilities out of high school up to 8 years reported being employed when interviewed, not a significantly different rate from same-age adults in the general population (66%). Yet the 60% currently employed was a significantly lower rate than the 91% who had been employed at some time since leaving high school, demonstrating the instability in the employment experiences of many young adults with disabilities.
Findings also will be presented for young adults who differed in their disability categories, school-leaving status, and demographic characteristics. For example, more than 60% of young adults with learning disabilities or speech/language or other health impairments were employed at the time of the interview whereas employment was reported for less than 40% of young adults with cognitive or orthopedic impairments, autism, multiple disabilities, or deaf-blindness. Being out of high school longer was not associated with higher employment rates, although gaining a postsecondary education credential improved the odds of employment significantly for young adults with disabilities as for those in the general population. Similarly, no gender or racial/ethnic differences were noted for young adults with disabilities, but income differences were apparent. Young adults with disabilities from households earning $25,000 or less were much less likely to have been employed at the time of the interview than those from higher-income households
Multivariate findings will be included to link individual and family characteristics and school experiences to post-high school employment outcomes.

Author

• Renee Cameto, SRI International