Archive:Disability statistics - barriers to employment
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This article is part of the set of articles on Disability based on data from the 2011 ad-hoc module of the EU Labour Force Survey. It deals with people aged 15-64, from 31 countries (EU-28, Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland) who reported limitations on the work they can do.
Individuals may be subject to such limitations for a variety of reasons. Apart from health-related ones, those that are significant from a disability perspective are personal or environmental (family responsibilities, lack of qualifications, etc.). The analysis below looks at how these factors restrict the work an individual can do. Relevant work factors are:
- number of hours worked
- type of work (e.g. does it involve carrying heavy loads, working outdoors, or sitting for a long time)
- getting to and from work.
The results presented in this article are based on 2 definitions of disability:
- definition 1: people with disabilities are those who have a basic activity difficulty (such as seeing, hearing, walking, communicating);
- definition 2: people with disabilities are those who are limited in the work they can do because of a longstanding health problem and/or a basic activity difficulty (LHPAD).
Main statistical findings
People subject to limitations on the work they can do owing to LHPAD face more barriers to employment
In 2011, more than one in 3 people throughout the EU subject to a work limitation caused by a longstanding health problem or an activity difficulty (LHPAD) were also limited by other personal or environmental factors. Conversely, only 9% of people without any LHPAD-related work limitation were subject to any other personal or environmental limitations (see Figure 1).
Among those restricted in the work they can do by both a long-term health problem and an activity difficulty, the following countries reported the largest proportions of people limited in their work by personal or environmental factors:
- Hungary and Romania (both 75%)
- Poland (72%)
- the UK (69%)
- Cyprus (56%)
The proportion was 10% in France and lower in Switzerland (3%), Turkey (6%), Latvia (7%), Denmark and Sweden (both 8%), Portugal (9%). Personal or environmental limitations on work were far less common among people not suffering from a long-term health problem or activity difficulty. The percentage varied from under 2% in the Czech Republic, Spain, Latvia, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey to over 40% in Cyprus (44%) and Hungary (43%).
The gap between those with a disability and everyone else as regards limitations on work for personal or environmental reasons was widest in Poland (62 percentage points) and Romania (61 pp), followed by the UK (47 pp), Lithuania (36 pp), Belgium (33 pp) and Hungary (32 pp).
About 19% of people between 15 & 64 reported a limitation on the work they can do
In 2011, about 19% of all 15-64-year-olds in the 28 EU countries had some limitation at work (see Figure 2), ranging from 10% in Ireland and 11% in Spain and the Czech Republic to around 50% in Cyprus and Hungary. The reasons for this were:
- personal or environmental factors only - 41%
- a longstanding health problem or a basic activity difficulty only - 38%
- both causes observed together - 21%.
'Personal or environmental factors only' was the main reason given in 13 countries. In Cyprus and Hungary, it accounted for as many as 3 out of every 4 people limited in their work activity. 'A longstanding health problem or a basic activity difficulty only' was the main reason reported in the 18 other countries.
In Poland, 40% of people restricted in the work they could do were subject to both sets of factors, while the figure was 36% for Romania.
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Lack of appropriate job opportunities stated by three out of ten in the EU-28
When investigating further the personal or environmental factors leading to work limitations, the lack of appropriate job opportunities appeared as the most frequent cause in the EU-28, quoted by 31% of the working-age population (see Table 1). At country level, this was mentioned by more than one person out of two in Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. A lack of qualifications or experience was mentioned by more than 25% in Bulgaria, Austria and Finland, while family or carrying responsibilities was the most reported reason in Ireland (38%). Other reasons than the three mentioned previously (e.g. lack of transportation or employers' lack of flexibility) accounted all together for more than 60% of the population in Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Limitation in working activities due to family or caring responsibilities most reported by women
Among the personal or environmental reasons, the principal reason quoted by women to be limited in work was 'family/carrying responsibilities' (27%) while this reason was mentioned by only 6% of men (see Figure 3). This situation was especially marked in Iceland and in Ireland where respectively 42% and 56% of women gave this reason (data not shown).
Conversely, more than one out of three men mentioned a lack of appropriate job opportunities as the main reason causing a limitation in working activities. This was even the only reason mentioned by males in Latvia.
Reasons also differ according to the age of the interviewed person. While the youngest most often stated the lack of qualifications or experience (36%), more than three out of ten aged between 25 and 44 mentioned a lack of appropriate job opportunities and persons aged 45-64 first referred to other personal or environmental reasons (see Figure 3).
Data sources and availability
The main data source used for this article is the European Labour Force Survey. It is a quarterly, large sample survey providing results for the population in private households in the EU, Turkey, Iceland, and Switzerland.
The LFS included an ad-hoc module on employment of disabled people in 2002 and 2011. The aim of the 2011 module was to provide information on the situation of disabled people on the labour market as compared to those without disabilities.
Concepts and definitions
Two main concepts of disability are used in this article:
- Longstanding health problems or diseases: longstanding is to be understood as a health problem that has lasted or is likely to last for at least 6 months. The main characteristic of a longstanding problem is that it is permanent and may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation or care.
- Basic activity difficulty: an activity is defined as the performance of a task or action by an individual and thus basic activity difficulties are defined as difficulties in performing a basic activity (such as seeing, hearing, lifting, bending, etc) by the respondent. The length of difficulty must have lasted or be expected to last for six months or more.
Context
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 “the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities”. This includes prohibition of discrimination, protection of rights, access to education, employment in the public and private sector, possibilities for self-employment and support in order to maintain employment on equal terms with others.
The national reports on the employment of disabled people in European countries provide evidence of widespread initiatives in policy and legislation in recent years. These include, for example, the right to an interview (e.g. in Poland and Denmark), assistance in adaptation of the workplace, employer incentives/subsidies, rights to flexible working, job matching, personal assistance at work, support for self-employment, etc. Although many initiatives have been taken, and more focus has been given to the integration of disabled people, more can be done. There is thus still a need for more knowledge, and more co-ordination in the area. Indeed, there is a relative lack of information about the types of jobs and sectors that disabled people are employed in, not least because many disabled people employed in the ordinary labour market are not recognised or measured in reported figures, e.g. because they are not recorded as having work limitations or receiving specific support services.
See also
Online publications
- Disability statistics
- EU labour force survey statistics
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Statistical analysis and publication of the results of the 2011 Labour Force Survey ad hoc module on employment of disabled people
Database
- Disability, see:
- Access to labour market for disabled people (Source LFS) (hlth_dsb_lm)
Dedicated section
- Health, see
- Disability
Methodology / Metadata
- Prevalence of disability (source LFS) (hlth_dsb_prv)
- Background articles in Statistics Explained
Other information
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 317/2010 of 16 April 2010 adopting the specifications of the 2011 ad hoc module on employment of disabled people for the labour force sample survey provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98
External links
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
- European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
- The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
[[Category:<Employment>|Disability statistics - barriers to employment]][[Category:<Health>|Disability statistics - barriers to employment]][[Category:<Labour market>|Disability statistics - barriers to employment]] [[Category:<Population>|Disability statistics - barriers to employment]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Disability statistics - barriers to employment]]