Remote Work Boosts Employment for People With Disabilities, Survey Shows

"The language of DEI may be currently out of favor, but a new report from the country's largest human resources trade association, SHRM, suggests that the American workforce is far more diverse since the Covid pandemic effectively ended in 2021. The surprising change happened almost by default, but SHRM's data show that there's been a huge surge in the numbers of people with disabilities participating in the workplace - partly thanks to the shift toward hybrid and remote working."

"In fact, SHRM says the rates have hit a "historic high." As of July this year "nearly 25 percent of people with disabilities participated in the labor force," the organization notes, adding that the numbers represent a 30 percent surge since the beginning of the covid pandemic. The rising numbers are partly attributed to the shift to teleworking which has "lowered traditional barriers to employment," and SHRM also notes that research shows "workers with disabilities are more likely to work fully remote schedules compared to their counterparts without disabilities.""

"An interesting factor in the growth is that it may skew toward younger people with disabilities: labor force participation of people in this group aged 16 to 24 has grown by nearly 60 percent since February 2020, SHRM says, higher than the average growth. This may mesh smoothly with the technological skills of digital-first age cohorts. Of course the rising workforce participation of people with disabilities isn't evenly spread, and the data show it's lowest in jobs like "life, physical, social science and health care practitioners, and technical roles," and high in work like building, maintenance and grounds cleaning. It's possible this is linked, the report notes, to lower barriers to entry for these types of work."

Rates of labor force participation among people with disabilities reached a historic high, with nearly 25 percent participating as of July. Participation has risen about 30 percent since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. The shift to teleworking lowered traditional barriers to employment and increased fully remote scheduling among workers with disabilities. Participation growth has been strongest among ages 16 to 24, rising nearly 60 percent since February 2020. Growth varies by occupation, with lower representation in science, health care practitioner, and technical roles, and higher representation in building, maintenance, and grounds cleaning.

Read at Inc