Unemployment rates for disabled and non-disabled people
About 2 mins
Key points
- In 2024, disabled people were almost twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people. This ratio is similar to 2014.
- Unemployment rates are lower than in 2014 and have nearly halved for both groups over this time period.
- In 2024, the unemployment rate for disabled people was 6.3% compared with 3.2% for non-disabled people.
Unemployment can affect people’s health in several ways. It can act as a source of stress and deprive people of income and social networks. Because of this, it is important that disabled people have opportunities for high-quality work and inclusion in the workplace. The nature of a person’s disability and the extent employers make adaptations can affect someone’s ability to find and keep work.
The chart shows the unemployment rates for disabled and non-disabled adults aged 16 years and older between 2014 and 2024.
- Unemployment rates fell for both disabled and non-disabled people between 2014 and 2024, with the exception of temporary increases in 2020 because of pandemic restrictions.
- The unemployment rate for disabled people (6.3%) is almost double the unemployment rate for non-disabled people (3.2%). There was little change in this ratio between 2014 and 2023.
As well as being more likely to be unemployed, disabled people are much less likely to be in employment. In 2024, 56.6% of disabled people aged 16–64 years were in employment compared with 82.2% of non-disabled people.
- Unemployment is defined as people actively seeking and being available for work, as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The unemployment rate does not include people who are economically inactive (i.e. people not participating in the labour market such as students, people looking after the family home, or people who are long-term sick or unable to work because of a disability).
- The disability status definition used here is the Harmonised Standard definition, in line with the Equality Act 2010 (EA) core definition. This includes people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition that affects their day-to-day activities.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey via NOMIS, UK, 2014–24
