Capturing the Elusive Working-Age Population With Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the implications of using different approaches to estimating the U.S. working-age population with disabilities. The approaches compared are the traditional work-activity limitation question, the Census Bureau's newer six-question sequence that does not include a work-activity limitation question, and the combination of the two. With data from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey, the authors demonstrate that using the work-limitation question or the six-question sequence alone results in an underestimate of the size of the working-age population with disabilities (assuming the International Classification of Disability, Health, and Functioning conceptualization of disabilities). Furthermore, the authors show that using the sample of the working-age population with disabilities identified by the six-question sequence will lead to biased estimates of key social policy success parameters; in particular, it will overestimate their employment rates and underestimate the share that are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income-Disabled Adults benefits relative to the broader sample that includes a work-limitation question and the six-question sequence.

Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination

“…Thanks in part to the large sample, all of these estimates substantially exceed their standard errors, indicating significance at the p < 0.001 level. Comparing to past estimates, the visual and hearing figures are roughly comparable to Baldwin and Choe's () unexplained pay gaps of 1.6 per cent for women and 8.4 per cent for men with sensory impairments (combining hearing, speech and visual), but the mobility figures are higher than their unexplained pay gaps of 2.7 per cent for women and 3.1 per cent for men with physical disabilities. Their lower estimates for physical disabilities, relative to our results for mobility impairments, may stem from their broader measure that includes limitations in any of a wide range of physical activities, not just walking or climbing stairs which reflect more severe disabilities.…”

“…These six questions may miss a significant number of people who report work disabilities, as concluded by Burkhauser et al . (). To the extent that our ‘non‐disability’ sample includes people with disabilities, our disability wage gaps are likely to be underestimated.…”

Health Limitations Among Mothers and Fathers: Implications for Parenting

“…About 11.9% of mothers and 13.6% of fathers report health limitations. These rates are higher than typically found in nationally representative surveys such as the Current Population Survey, which finds the percentages of work limitations hovering around 8% over time (Burkhauser, Houtenville, & Tennant, 2014). Because Fragile Families draws from a disproportionately disadvantaged sample, it is not surprising that we find a higher percentage of health limitations.…”

“…These parents, when compared with a nationally representative sample of parents, are at greater risk of having health problems and have fewer resources with which to cope with the health problems they do encounter, exacerbating the risk of stress spillover. Indeed, the comparisons of our sample to nationally representative data on work limitations indicate that our sample members experience a higher rate of health limitations (Burkhauser et al, 2014). At the same time, these families live in urban areas, enhancing their proximity to social support and resources that families in more rural areas may lack.…”

The Impact of Electronic Payments for Vulnerable Consumers: Evidence from Social Security

“…The CPS has no measure of childhood disability to compare with children who qualify for disability‐related SSA payments. See Burkhauser, Houtenville, and Tenant () for a discussion of CPS measures of disability.…”