The Earnings and Employment Outcomes of Disabled Postsecondary Graduates in Canada

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 14. Labor Market Outcomes and Returns to Education

Abstract

Canada’s fear of future skill and labour shortages have brought younger disabled individuals to the forefront of public policy. Many universities are now reporting increased proportions of their graduating students identify as having a disability, and as a result, educational achievement-based programs designed to accommodate students’ needs are growing across campuses. Despite recent attention by policymakers on improving accessibility standards and increasing employer incentives, disabled youth continue to face barriers in their transitions to the workforce. The nature and extent of the early workforce inequalities faced by disabled postsecondary graduates remains unclear. This paper draws on the 2005 cohort of Statistics Canada’s National Graduates Survey to examine the early workforce outcomes of disabled postsecondary graduates. Indeed, the results reveal significant earnings and employment gaps between disabled and non-disabled graduates. Disabled graduates were significantly less likely to secure full-time employment and were overrepresented among unemployed and part-time workers. Moreover, this study also revealed that the relative size of the earnings gaps and probability of securing full-time employment vary across graduates’ field of study and level of education.

Authors

• David Zarifa, Nipissing University

• David Michael Walters, University of Guelph

• Brad Seward, University of Guelph