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Disability and recruitment in the UK

  • There are 6.7 million disabled people of working age in Great Britain, which represents 18% of the working age population. Labour Force Survey, May 2009
  • There are currently 1.3 million disabled people in the UK who are available for and want to work. Labour Force Survey, May 2009
  • Disabled people make an average of two and a half times as many job applications as non-disabled people and yet get fewer job offers. SCOPE, Ready, Willing and Disabled, April 2003
  • Disabled graduates are more likely to be out of work than non-disabled individuals with no formal qualifications. Monitoring Poverty & Social Exclusion 2006, New Policy Institute
  • A third of those who were disabled while in paid work said that they had in the past had to leave work for reasons connected to their impairment. Office for Disability Issues, Experiences and Expectations of Disabled People, July 2008
  • Disabled people are more than twice as likely to have no qualifications: 23% of disabled people have no qualifications compared to 9% of non disabled people. Labour Force Survey, March 2009
  • Employment rates vary greatly according to the type of impairment a person has; only 20% of people with a mental health condition are in employment. Labour Force Survey, March 2009
  • At least 1.3 million disabled people of working age in the UK face ongoing exclusion because companies are using inaccessible e-recruitment websites. McKinsey & Company, ‘Making E-recruitment Barrier-free for people with Disabilities', 2003
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