Income at Risk: Unemployment Skyrockets for Those with Disabilities, Repor...( Third-quarte...),Health

Third-quarter unemployment rate for people with disabilities tops 16 percent; people with worsening disabilities face mounting hurdles to return to work, Social Security disability may be last safety net

Belleville, Ill. (Vocus) October 19, 2009 -- Unemployment for people with disabilities has reached its highest rate since January, according to a quarterly study by Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare services.

At the same time, the Allsup Disability Study: Income at Risk shows the number of people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits continues to climb. Thousands of people are forced to leave their jobs each month because of disabling conditions. Additionally, the rising SSDI application rate may be a result of individuals with worsening disabilities who have been out of work because of the recession and now realize they are medically unable to return to work.

Specifically, the third-quarter Allsup study shows unemployment averaged 16.1 percent for people with disabilities, compared to 9.3 percent for people with no disabilities, according to non-seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Over time, the study shows people with disabilities consistently experience higher rates of unemployment. Monthly unemployment rates for people with disabilities during the third quarter ranged from 15.1 percent (July) to 16.9 percent (August). These are the highest monthly unemployment rates reported since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began reporting data on unemployment rates for peo
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