unemployment rate

05.24.12 – The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has launched an app challenge inviting participants to compete for $10,000 in prizes and a chance for their app to be featured on the ODEP website.  The challenge aims to “promote recruitment resources for employers, develop job training and skill-building tools for job seekers, facilitate employment-related transportation options and expand information communication technology accessibility.”  The assistant secretary of labor for disability policy,

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has issued a notice of proposed priority for a Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP) on employment of individuals with disabilities.  The notice highlights that current unemployment rates for people ages 25 to 54 are approximately two times higher for individuals with disabilities compared to individuals without disabilities and that the average yearly wage for individuals with disabilities is about $10,000 less than individuals without disabilities.

04.06.2012 – The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released new statistics highlighting the employment status for people with disabilities.  The statistics show that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 15.2% for March of 2012 and has varied only slightly from March of 2011 when the rate was 15.6%.  The report also shows that the current unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost double the rate for people without disabilities (8.1%).