ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

How many people had more than one disability in 2000?

 

Disability measures from Census 2000 were not mutually exclusive and 46.3 percent of people with any disability reported more than one. A person with a single condition might report both a physical disability and an employment disability. For example, a person with severe asthma may have also experienced difficulty climbing stairs and difficulty working at a job or business. The people who responded positively to more than one of the Census 2000 disability questions demonstrated the degree to which a long-lasting physical, mental, or emotional condition could affect more than one aspect of a person’s life. Of the people who reported an employment disability, 56.4 percent also reported at least one other type of condition. Additionally, 63.7 percent of people with a sensory disability, 67.6 percent of people with a physical disability, and 70.9 percent of people with a mental disability reported more than one condition. Among people with difficulty going outside the home, 81.5 percent indicated at least one other measure of disability. The disability most likely to be linked to multiple conditions was the self-care measure — 97.0 percent of people who marked this type of condition also reported one or more of the other measures of disability.

 

 

Were people with disabilities less likely to be employed than others?

 

Census 2000 showed that people between the ages of 16 and 64 were less likely to be employed if they were disabled. While 79.9 percent of working-age men without a disability were employed, only 60.1 percent of those with a disability worked. Among women of working age, the
respective employment rates were 67.3 percent and 51.4 percent. Altogether, 10.4 million men and 8.2 million women with disabilities were employed.

 

 

How many people with disabilities lived in poverty in 2000?

 

In 2000, 8.7 million people with disabilities were poor — a substantially higher proportion (17.6 percent) than was found among people aged
5 and older without disabilities (10.6 percent). However, the pattern of poverty by age was similar for both groups, with the highest
poverty rates found among children aged 5 to 15. The poverty rate for young people with disabilities was 25.0 percent, compared with 15.7 percent for those without disabilities. The next highest poverty rates for both groups were found among people 16 to 64 years old — 18.8 percent for those with disabilities, nearly double the rate for those without (9.6 percent). Among people 65 years old and over, the respective proportions
were 13.2 percent and 7.4 percent.

U.S. Census Bureau