Labour market inequalities across disability statuses, sex and age

Abstract

The paper analyses basic issues relating to labour market discrimination experienced by persons with disabilities, which is reflected in the different levels of employment and unemployment of this group of people in relation to the entire population. Therefore, the aim of the study is to identify the inequality in the labour market with respect to the disability status, sex and age, and to assess the stability of this relation over time. The research covers the period from 2001 to 2018 and was based on the 2002 and 2011 Census and the Labour Force Survey (LFS) data. The examination of the inequalities in economic activity between people with disabilities and the entire population while taking into account both sex and age was based on the analysis of census data. The stability of this relation was verified on the basis of LFS data, which provide information on employment and unemployment among persons with disabilities in general or separately by sex or age. The constructed patterns were used to estimate the economic activity of people with disabilities in 2011. The paper used methods of demographic analysis, comparative statistics, time series, the verification of statistical hypotheses and statistical estimation. Clear differences concern men aged 35–39 and women aged 40–49. The employment rate for men with disabilities is three times lower, and for women 2.5 times lower than among the whole population. The relationship between employment rates was essentially constant over the 2001–2018 period. An upward trend was observed in the case of the unemployment rate. 2008 saw a clear increase in the disproportion in relation to the trend. The unemployment rate among persons with disabilities compared to the entire population was higher for men by an average of 60% and by 50% for women.