Data hub group selection analysis: Persons with Disabilities
1 Group definition
In Canada there is no single official definition for a person with disability; however the Government of Canada advises to consult the definitions provided by the WHO and the UN. For the purposes of data collection, persons with disabilities are recognized through self-identifying questions in the Census.
2 Selection criteria data and analysis
2.1 Labour market representation
Labour market outcomes of persons with disabilities is limited. Data come from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Survey on Disability(CSD), which is conducted every five years on a sub-sample of respondents identified through the Census. It provides estimates on the unemployment, employment, and labour force participation counts and rates for persons who self-identify as having difficulty performing at least one Activities of Daily Living specified in the Census.
According to data from the CDS, persons with disabilities represent a large group in the Canadian labour market. An estimated 20% of working-age Canadians (25 to 64) have a mental or physical disability that affects their daily life. Furthermore, only 59% of them are employed, much lower than the employment rate of persons without disabilities (80%).
The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities in 2012 was at 7.5%, which is slightly above the total population unemployment rate, and several points above that for women. As of 2017, the unemployment rate increased 2.3 percentage points to 9.8% – higher than women and recent immigrants but still lower the unemployment rates of Indigenous Peoples, recent immigrants and youth.
Building upon this, both the employment and participation rates of persons with disabilities declined during the same period. The participation rate dropped from 76.9% to 61.6% (a 15.3 percentage point decline). The same situation occurred in the employment rate, which dipped 15.6 percentage points, from 71.1% to 55.5%. Many factors could contribute to these dramatic changes. Most of them center around pre-existing barriers, such as stigmas regarding this group’s ability to perform in the work place and the lack of awareness about accommodations and best practices.
2.2 COVID-19 impact
One way to measure the impact of COVID-19 is to examine the average monthly employment loss from February through June 2020; however, monthly employment data is unavailable for persons with disabilities. Instead, we look to data collected by Statistics Canada during the economic shutdown via crowdsourcing. Results from this survey are displayed in the table below.
| Before Covid | Current Situation | |
|---|---|---|
| Employed | 66% | 55% |
| Unemployed | 7% | 16% |
| Not in the labour force | 27% | 29% |
Sixty-six per cent of respondents reported being employed before Covid-19 hit. At the time of the survey, only 55% of them were still employed – representing a decline of 11 percentage points in employment. Similarly, the share of respondents who were unemployed prior to the pandemic increased from 7% to 16% (a 128% increase). Finally, we observe a small increase in the number of people who left the labor force (less than 1%).
2.3 Accessibility of LMI
Another factor to consider is the group’s relationship to LMI. Specifically, we want to know their experiences locating and interpretating LMI. For example, among those who self identified as a person with disability for Public Opinion Research,20% of respondents did not find LMI to have an impact on their career, and half (50%) reported difficulty finding this information. LMI use unfortunately is not available for this group.
This is to be expected for this group given that persons with disabilities are not a homogenous group. The type and number of disabilities, their severity and course, age of disability onset, gender, racial minority status, educational attainment and work experiences all play a role in how individuals experience disability.Therefore, for each single type of disability, a different kind of LMI may be necessary in order to provide adequate support. As a recent study by the Future Skill Center (FSC) explains, educational institutions, service providers and employers can all serve as key enablers in the success of persons with disabilities.
To assist in guaranteeing that success, we must understand what kind of access is needed. We conducted a survey asking persons with disabilities to identify the information most important to them. We found that the top four LMI needs of persons with disabilities are the same as for the general employed population. The results are displayed in the following graph.
The results provide a good starting point and the top LMI needs similar across user groups. It is vital that they have the knowledge and skills to assist persons with disabilities in acquiring educational credentials, expertise and training that support meaningful and sustainable employment.
2.4 Existing representation
There are several organizations that are dedicated to supporting the labour market outcomes of persons with disabilities, which includes offering career counseling activities.
Some of these providers have a national outlook such as:
Charity Village - serves communities of persons with disabilities across Canada.
The Council of Canadians with Disabilities(CCD) - a social justice organization of people with all disabilities that does provide employment counseling as well.
While others create local networks in specific Provinces. Some of them include:
The Oden Network - The Ontario Disability Employment Network is a professional body of employment service providers united to increase employment opportunities for people who have a disability.
2.5 LMIC’s pre-existing knowledge base
LMIC has invested in collecting and analyzing data with respect to the labour market outcomes of people with disabilities. First, people with disabilities constituted one of several demographic groups explicitly targeted during our POR project. In addition, there are two LMI’s Insights that have been published thus far, with more to come: