Budget 2022 was a milestone for the disabled community with the announcement that the Ministry for Disabled People would be established from 1 July. The Government is signalling that the new Ministry marks a move towards a ‘whole-of-life’ approach to disability, rather than viewing it as a ‘health’ issue. Here we look at the challenges disabled people face in the labour market.
Disabled people have lower employment rates
First some key statistics, all of which relate to the June 2022 quarter.1
- 3.8% of the main working-age population aged 15-64 were disabled.
- The employment rate of disabled people is half that of non-disabled people: only 42% of disabled people aged 15-64 were employed compared with 80% of non-disabled people.
- A lower employment rate is partly due to a higher unemployment rate: the unemployment rate of disabled people was 7.9% compared with 3.3% for non-disabled people.
- But the key difference is that just over half of working-age disabled people are not in the labour force: 55% of disabled people aged 15-64 were not in the labour force compared with 17% of non-disabled people. However, according to research by the Maxim Institute, 74% of disabled people who are not in work, want to work. 2
Work fewer hours
- Those disabled people who are in work are more likely to work part-time: 26% of employed disabled people aged 15-64 worked part-time compared with 17% of non-disabled people
- Disabled people also have higher rates of under-employment: 6.7% of employed disabled people aged 15-64 are working part-time and would like to work more hours compared with 3.3% of non-disabled people.
Work in lower-skilled roles
The industries that disabled people work in are very similar to non-disabled people. However, disabled people tend to work in occupations that require lower skill sets. For example, while labourers are an essential part of the labour market, labourer occupations tend to require the lowest skills.
- 16% of employed disabled people aged 15-64 work in labourer occupations compared with 9% of non-disabled people. Disabled people are less likely than non-disabled people to work in (higher skilled) professional roles.
Have lower incomes
Small wonder then, that disabled people are over-represented in poverty statistics. In the June 2022 quarter disabled people aged 15-64 had a mean income of $662 per week compared with $1,125 for non-disabled people.
And face higher living costs
In addition to lower employment rates, which result in lower incomes, disabled people tend to face higher living costs. Higher living costs include “special costs” specific to, and the result of, an impairment such as: purchasing medicines, personal care and daily assistance with personal hygiene and showering, assistance in cleaning or buying groceries, as well as one-off costs such as: a wheelchair, stair lift, guide dog, or specialised computer software – all of which are central to a person’s capacity to participate in society.
Disabled people also experience rises in the cost of living alongside non-disabled people. Recent steep rises in food, fuel and energy prices will make up a greater proportion of lower-income households’ disposable incomes, thereby increasing the stress on household finances. Disability can also mean greater reliance on everyday items. For example, if a disabled person is reliant on their car for mobility, increased fuel prices are an additional cost they are unable to avoid. For someone whose limited mobility makes lifting pots and pans or chopping vegetables difficult, for example, the increased cost of buying ready-prepared meals can become a necessary support. 3
For disabled people who are reliant on family members to provide support, this can also have a detrimental effect on household finances. Carers are more likely to work part-time than non-carers: in 2018, 17% of carers of people with disabilities or illness worked part-time compared with 14% of non-carers.
Raising employment rates is key
The Maxim Institute has done research into the barriers that disabled people face in the labour market. The Maxim Institute recognise that paid employment can lift people with disabilities out of poverty, provide an important place and time for social interaction, and promote a sense of self-value and purpose.
The Maxim Institute’s research has also found that employment of people with disabilities is beneficial to employers because they tend to be loyal and committed employees. This is supported by labour market data which shows that disabled people have an average job tenure of 7.2 years compared with 6.2 year for non-disabled people 4. Employment of people with disabilities is also beneficial to the wider society as it reduces benefit support payments.
There are challenges
Research by the Maxim Institute has found that people with disabilities seeking work face significant barriers such as the inaccessibility of the workplace, limited availability of in-work supports, and the fear of disclosing a disability to employers lest it affect their chances of landing or staying in a job.
There can also be hidden costs of employment to disabled people. Accessible transport and parking, for instance, can negate the benefits of a wage. Disabled people also experience anxiety around benefit abatement rates and the resulting loss of support from the social security system.
For employers, barriers to employing disabled people include the costs of purchasing assistance equipment and technology. However, research in the US has found that many of the costs involved in employing people with disabilities are one-off and often smaller than employers expected. 5
And strategies to overcome them
Strategies to overcome these barriers include supported employment, sheltered employment, workplaces with in-built supports and which solely employ people with disabilities, or assisting people with disabilities within a traditional workplace. Education campaigns can be used to alter perceptions of the wider public. Government and other agencies can also provide financial support for altering workspaces, purchasing equipment, training staff, or transport.
Just Say Yes are an example of an agency that helps organisations build an inclusive workforce. They offer bespoke and practical workforce services and advice such as workforce inclusion and disability action plans.
The Government is also keen to remove the barriers that disabled people face in the education system. The current Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) including a priority to reduce barriers to education for disabled learners/ākonga and those with learning support needs 6. This priority creates a mandate for tertiary education providers, Workforce Development Councils and other agencies to focus on the unmet needs disabled learners.
Te Pūkenga explicitly states this in its desired outcomes 7. The role of the Te Pūkenga Community Facilitators in the proposed operating model will include supporting disabled learners to attend courses by using local disability transport services to arrange reliable transport. Te Pūkenga also proposes helping learners find employers with a good diversity rating, ensuring that staff performance expectations include being disability confident, and ensuring that digital and platform technologies developed by Te Pūkenga for learners and employers will take into consideration the unique needs of disabled learners 8.
Hanga-Aro-Rau, the Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics Workforce Development Council, states in its Skills and Workforce Leadership Plan 2022/23 that removing barriers to learning for the disabled workforce is a top priority. The WDC recognises that precise disability data isn’t yet available for its sectors, so they commit to conduct research to understand how and where disabled people are represented in manufacturing, engineering and logistics industry sectors 9.
But more needs to be done
Current employment rates of disabled people are a poor reflection of how we as New Zealanders value their contribution to society. The deep and endemic skill shortages that are currently constraining New Zealand’s economic growth also serve to highlight the broader benefits of ensuring that everyone who wants to work, has opportunities to do so.
Every person with a disability has a unique set of capabilities and challenges. For someone with a severe intellectual disability, working towards their full potential might mean working in a manual occupation. For someone with a physical disability, working in professional and managerial positions could be a reality.
Government policy is increasingly about empowerment. Giving disabled people the support they need to engage in work and other aspects of society, and allowing the individual to determine what kind of contribution they want to make. Something the rest of us take for granted.
The Maxim Institute has a number of recommendations that constitute a to-do list for the new Ministry for Disabled People. Recommendations include upscaling wrap-around support, and bridging the public and employer perception divide by sharing the success stories of employing people with disabilities. Working flexible hours from flexible locations is becoming increasingly common in the workplace. This needs to be harnessed to make work more accessible to people with limited mobility or fluctuating energy levels.
And finally, the benefit funding structure needs to be reworked. It needs to be accessible, offer support for employers, ensure abatement rates are not a financial disincentive to work, promote cohesion rather than competition between support providers, and recognise the real costs of living for people with disabilities. 10
I would also add that better education and labour market data about disabled people should also be a priority. I was unable to find any published data about disabled people in school or tertiary education as part of my research for this article. And I would echo what the Hanga-Aro-Rau Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics Workforce Development Council has said, that detailed disability data isn’t available for industry sectors outside the Census, which is now out of date, and the Household Labour Force Survey, which is too aggregated to be useful to Workforce Development Councils. As the saying goes, if you want to change something, you must first count it.
Sources
1 Stats NZ, Labour Market Statistics (disability): June 2022 quarter
2 Danielle van Dalen, Acknowledging Ability: Overcoming the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, Maxim Institute
3 Danielle van Dalen, Acknowledging Ability: Overcoming the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, Maxim Institute
4 Stats NZ, Labour Market Statistics (disability): June 2022 quarter
5 Danielle van Dalen, Acknowledging Ability: Overcoming the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, Maxim Institute
6 Ministry of Education, The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES)
8 Te Pūkenga, Proposed Te Pūkenga Operating Model, October 2021
9 Hanga-Aro-Rau Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics Workforce Development Council, Skills and Workforce Leadership Plan 2022/23
10 Danielle van Dalen, Acknowledging Ability: Overcoming the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, Maxim Institute
