One in three disabled hold paid jobs

In 2013, 14 percent of all 15 to 64-year-olds in the Netherlands – nearly 1.6 million people – had a disability. They suffer from chronic diseases, disorders or disabilities restricting their capacity to work or find work. One third of disabled had paid jobs of at least twelve hours a week. They often held permanent employment contracts and relatively often were working on a part-time basis. One in  ten work-disabled people with paid jobs would like to work more hours as Statistics Netherlands and the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) announced today.

Participation disabled on the labour market relatively  low

The net labour participation of disabled people is relatively low: in 2013 one in three of them were working at least 12 hours a week, versus 72 percent of non-disabled persons. With 15.8 percent, the unemployment rate among disabled is  relatively high and more than twice as high as the rate among non-disabled (7.6 percent). Compared to non-disabled employed, the difference in unemployment among high-educated disabled is considerably lower than among low and secondary educated disabled. The situation is different with respect to participation on the labour market: the labour participation rate is higher among better educated people, but even at the highest level, it is distinctly lower than the participation rate among non-disabled.

Few disabled hold flexible employment contracts

Disabled persons in paid employment less often worked on a flexible working-hour basis in 2013 than their non-disabled counterparts: 17  versus 12 percent. An important factor in this respect is the higher average age of disabled. In 2013, half of all disabled workers were aged 50 years or older, compared to 28 percent of non-disabled. More than seven in ten disabled working at least 12 hours a week in paid jobs have permanent employment contracts, i.e. slightly more than among non-disabled. The number of self-employed is also marginally higher among disabled.

Most disabled workers are employed in the sector health care and welfare, in manufacturing industry and trade, partly because these are the largest sectors. Proportionally, many disabled are employed in the sectors manufacturing industry and health care and welfare.

1) Total number of disabled and/or non-disabled is 100 percent, excluding sector unknown.

More than four in ten employed disabled have full-time jobs

In the category non-disabled, 59 percent are employed on a full-time basis, versus 43 percent in the category disabled, hence nearly six in ten disabled employed are working on a part-time basis. The majority of part-timers work 20 to 35 hours a week.

One in ten disabled prefer longer working hours

Usually, the actual number of working hours of disabled employed meets their wishes. Eight in ten have no intention to change their working hours. One in ten would like to increase their working hours and one in ten would like to reduce their working hours or stop working altogether. Among disabled employees, the number who would like to stop working altogether is marginally higher than among their non-disabled counterparts.