How Disability Shapes Labor Force Participation and Employment Differentially by Educational Attainment and Disability Type

• In Event: 2349 - Disability and Society: Experiences of Work

Abstract

Objective: I conducted a descriptive analysis of how disability shapes labor force participation and employment differentially by educational attainment and disability type.
Methods: I used the American Community Survey, 2015 (N=1,504,947) to conduct linear probability models exploring the relationship between disability and labor force participation and disability and employment, including interaction effects for education and age.
Results: I found that having a disability is associated with a decrease in the probability of labor force participation (b=-0.34) and employment (b=-0.05) when controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, family income, and age. This relationship is moderated by education and age, where higher levels of education are associated with increased probabilities of labor force participation and employment and higher years of age is associated with decreased probability of labor force participation. When differentiated by disability type, education moderates the relationship between disability and labor force participation for all disability types, but education only moderates the relationship between disability and employment for those with cognitive, physical, and mobility related disabilities.
Conclusion: Having a bachelor’s degree is associated with a 30.68% higher probability of labor force participation and a 26.84% higher probability of employment among those in the labor force than having some college, which may make higher education a pivotal intervention point. Additionally, the relationship between disability and labor force participation, and disability and employment varies by disability type, as does the role of education. Future research and interventions should therefore differentiate by disability type as well.

Author

• Erin Josephine McCauley, Cornell University