This month’s statistic is the unemployment rate. People often compare this rate for persons with and without disabilities to discuss barriers to employment.
In Vietnam, estimates put the 2022 unemployment rate at 4.3% for persons without disabilities. For persons with disabilities, the figure reached 13.9%. This shows a clear gap. But is unemployment the right statistic to focus on?
What Unemployment Rates Miss About the Disability Employment Gap
Well, unemployment is defined as people who are able and willing to work and are actively looking for employment but have not found it. Hence, people who are not looking for work are not included in calculating unemployment rates. In many circumstances, adults with disabilities may not be looking for work because there are so many barriers they feel it is not worthwhile! Those people, who may want to work but don’t even see the point of looking, are not considered unemployed: they are called “discouraged workers” and are counted among those outside the labour force. Persons are only considered to be in the labour force if they are working or looking for work.
Unemployment gaps do not show the full disability employment gap. They leave out many adults with disabilities who face barriers to work. So what would be a more appropriate indicator? We might be better off looking at the employment rate.
Why Employment Rates Show More of the Disability Employment Gap
The employment rate is defined as the percentage of the working-age population that works for pay at least one hour a week.
By focusing on employment, we know how many adults access employment, and as a result, we also know how many do not;, that is, how many are either unemployed or outside the labour force.
For instance, we see that according to the 2022 Labor Force Survey in Vietnam, the employment rate of adults without disabilities was 76.3%, but for adults with disabilities it was 23.5%. This means that 76.5 percent of working age adults with disabilities do not work, compared to only 23.7 of working age adults without disabilities.
The graph below shows three categories: employed, unemployed, and outside the labour force. Looking only at unemployment—the orange section—misses a major difference. Many people with disabilities are outside the labour force entirely.
This reflects the reality that there is probably a much larger share of adults with disabilities who are likely discouraged workers rather than unemployed workers. Thus, inclusive labor market policies should not only try to help adults with disabilities who are looking for jobs to find jobs, but also, support adults with disabilities who would like to work, but face too many barriers to even try. Looking at the unemployment rate instead of the employment rates and those “not working” could be understating the barriers to employment faced by persons with disabilities, and lead to designing policies that do not fully address these barriers.
What Can These Statistics Tell Us?
Now, let’s be clear: these figures alone do not constitute a study of employment barriers. Neither unemployment nor employment rates fully explain the barriers people with disabilities face. We need further analysis to understand what is happening. Still, these statistics offer a glimpse into their realities.
Learning about each statistic is like opening a window. Some windows are bigger, and some are smaller. Some face north, while others face south. The indicator we choose shapes which barriers we see and what we decide to do about them.
About Statistic of the Month
It is easy to quote statistics, but it is also easy to quote them badly. We must choose appropriate indicators and interpret them carefully. Otherwise, we risk presenting an inaccurate or misleading picture of reality.
In this monthly column, we highlight a statistic or indicator. We briefly discuss its strengths and limitations and explain how to interpret it.
Explore all our Stats of the Month here.
