About 7 in 10 out-of-school youth with disabilities have worked for pay at some time since leaving high school, and more than 4 in 10 were employed at the time of the Wave 2 interview. This rate is substantially below the 63 percent employment rate among same-age out-of-school youth in the general population.
Since the Wave 1 interview, when youth were still in high school, out-of-school youth with disabilities have experienced an overall increase in the average number of hours they work per week, reaching 29 hours in Wave 2, and a nearly 20-percentage-point increase (to 40 percent) in those working full-time.
Wages earned by out-of-school youth with disabilities increased an average of $1.30 since they were in high school 2 years previously, to $7.30 per hour. This results in a significant drop in the percentage of youth with disabilities working for less than minimum wage and a 25-percentage-point increase (to 41 percent) in the proportion of youth earning more than $7.00 per hour. However, receiving benefits as part of a total compensation package is not common; about one-third of out-of-school youth with disabilities receive any benefits (i.e., paid vacation or sick leave, health insurance, or retirement benefits).
Reliance on typically low-paying personal-care jobs (e.g., child care), has decreased markedly among girls with disabilities; 6 percent of girls work in such jobs in Wave 2. At the same time, there has been an increase in jobs in the trades (e.g., carpentry, plumbing) among boys; 28 percent of boys hold these kinds of jobs up to 2 years after leaving high school.
Eighty-four percent of working out-of-school youth report having employers who are unaware of their disabilities. Among those who report their employers are aware of their disabilities, 25 percent are receiving workplace accommodations for them; they constitute 4 percent of working youth with disabilities.
Most working youth with disabilities have positive feelings about their employment experiences. Four in 10 say they like their current job or liked their most recent job "very much," three-fourths believe their current or most recent job has put their education to good use and that they are well paid, and two-thirds believe they have opportunities for advancement. Among youth employed more than 6 months, about 60 percent report being promoted, taking on more responsibility, or receiving a pay increase.
PDF & Related Info