The Employment Situation of People with Disabilities in the European Union
- Study prepared by EIM Business and Policy Research for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs, August 2001
People with disabilities are in general older, less well educated and more likely to be female than those who are not disabled. All of these characteristics are associated with groups in a relatively unfavourable labour market position. This suggests that disabled people with disabilities are 'doubly disadvantaged' in the labour market, and that specific labour market policies for disabled people are required, irrespective of whether they are employed, unemployed or inactive.
Disabled people in employment work fewer hours per week, and receive lower wages than their non-disabled counterparts, and the evidence is consistent with widespread discrimination against disabled people in the labour market.
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| Foreword | 5 |
| Executive Summary | 7 |
| Rιsumι du rapport de recherche | 13 |
| ResÏmee der Studie | 21 |
| 1 Introduction | 29 |
| 1.1 An increasing interest in disabled people | 29 |
| 1.2 A network of European experts | 29 |
| 1.3 Definitions and demarcation | 29 |
| 1.4 Research questions | 30 |
| 1.5 Structure of the report | 30 |
| 2 Disabled people in the European Union | 32 |
| 2.1 Definitions and sources | 32 |
| 2.2 Disability in the European Union | 34 |
| 2.3 Who are the disabled? | 35 |
| 2.3.1 Introduction | 35 |
| 2.3.2 Age | 36 |
| 2.3.3 Gender | 36 |
| 2.3.4 Educational level | 37 |
| 2.3.5 Household composition | 37 |
| 2.4 Con | 38 |
| 3 The labour market position of disabled persons | 39 |
| 3.1 Introduction | 39 |
| 3.2 The labour market situation of people with disabilities | 39 |
| 3.3 Characteristics of disabled in employment | 42 |
| 3.3.1 Socio-demographic characteristics | 42 |
| 3.3.2 Job characteristics | 43 |
| 3.4 Benefit schemes and active labour market programmes: definitions and sources | 45 |
| 3.5 Participation in benefit schemes | 46 |
| 3.6 Participation in active labour market programmes | 49 |
| 3.7 Con | 49 |
| 4 Conclusions and recommendations | 51 |
| 4.1 Introduction | 51 |
| 4.2 The employment situation of people with disabilities in the EU | 51 |
| 4.3 A potential rise in the employment rate? | 52 |
| 4.4 Research agenda | 54 |
| 4.5 Improving information | 55 |
| 4.6 Indicators for monitoring the employment situation of disabled | 56 |
| Sources and Literature | 59 |
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