Social Security Disability Provider Allsup Reports Rising Unemployment for People with Disabilities

Workers with disabilities experience a significantly higher rate of unemployment than the national average, reports a recent Allsup study who said the rate dropped considerably during the fourth quarter of 2011  but jumped to over 14 percent in the first three months of 2012. The study,  officially named the Allsup Disability Study: Income at Risk, reports that the first quarter of 2012 saw people with disabilities experience an unemployment rate nearly 75 percent higher than for people without a disability.

The average rate of unemployment for individuals with disabilities was 14.6 percent
while those without disabilities experienced an average rate of 8.4 percent through
March. During the same period last year, the average rates were 13.2 percent
and 8.1 percent for people with and without disabilities, respectively.

“People with disabilities often face a much greater challenge in securing employment,” said Paul Gada, personal financial planning director for the Allsup Disability Life Planning Center. “Their health condition may make it difficult to continue to work for extended periods, or it worsens so they are forced out of the labor market entirely.”

Also up significantly over 2011 was the number of Social Security Disability claims by people with disabilities. During Q1 of 2012, nearly 725,000 people with disabilities applied for SSDI, up from about 660,000 from Q4 2011. For 2011, almost 2.9 million people were too disabled for employment and applied for SSDI while 1.8 million claims remain pending. The average wait time for claims decision is over 800 days.