The participation rate for individuals with disabilities in the New York workforce has risen over the last few years, but only about a quarter of them a part of the labor force, according to a report released Thursday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
The comptroller said the disability workforce for those at least 16 years old and older rose 4.6% between 2019 and 2024, while only 28.8% of those with disabilities participated in the workforce in 2024, 3.5% below the national rate.
Due to the daily challenges facing people with disabilities, the report said they are less likely to graduate high school or earn a bachelor’s degree and tend to have lower rates of labor force participation and employment. Consequently, they earn far less on average than those without a disability. In 2024, one in four New Yorkers with a disability lived below the poverty line compared to one in five nationally.
“This year marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act and while we’ve made some progress, challenges remain and more effort is needed to ensure people with disabilities have equal opportunities in the workplace,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Providing accommodations for workplace flexibility and encouraging employers to practice inclusive hiring can help improve employment outcomes for people with a disability. By championing inclusion, we create progress, prosperity and a stronger New York.”
DiNapoli emphasized the importance of leveraging existing vocational programs, improving transportation services for jobs that cannot be done remotely and educating employers about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities as measures that could diminish barriers to employment for people with disabilities.
State agencies are required to develop an annual plan that details how they will improve the percentage of people with disabilities they hire, and the chief disability officer is required to annually collect data from each agency and report on and evaluate the state’s progress. This summer, the unemployment rate for disabled New Yorkers was at 64%, and has remained there for some time.
In 2024, more than 2.5 million New Yorkers 16 and older had a disability, representing 15% of the working-age population.