Employees of ATI Contract Services division work on a client job. Despite a rise in unemployment among people with disabilities, assembly and fulfillment jobs look to be on the rise in early 2012.
After two consecutive months of positive trends for hiring people with disabilities, 2011 closed with a slight rise in unemployment for these people, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Journalist Michelle Diament, who tracks the federal agency’s monthly numbers closely over at DisabilityScoop.com, reported last week that the good news of 200,000 new American jobs in December did not result in more employment for people with disabilities. The rate for this statistical subset rose half a point after reaching a two-and-a-half year low of 13% in November.
In October, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities fell by a dramatic 3%. Diament called that drop “significant” because it came at time when the number of Americans with disabilities in the workforce or seeking employment was on the rise. She attributes the latest setback in part to the decision made by some of these people to stop looking for work altogether. She also notes that seasonal hiring trends cannot be accounted for since the Labor Department only began tracking employment statistics for people with disabilities in 2008.
But even in the wake of disappointing figures there is news indicating that people with disabilities will benefit from the continued increase in American jobs during the New Year, particularly with contract labor services. A press release issued last week by DePaul Industries unveiled a five-year strategic plan to grow its workforce to 3,900 people with disabilities. The Oregon-based company provides contract labor to the manufacturing and packaging industries, sectors that are critical for achieving stability in the U.S. economy.
Similar good news comes from Brown County, Ohio, where an organization that provides sorting, packaging, and light assembly jobs for people with disabilities is making organizational changes that will increase its annual funding by a quarter of a million dollars. News Democrat associate editor Bryan Peck writes that the revenue increase will fund “major plans” to increase and expand work opportunities and life-skills services for the people they serve.
Finally, Brent Curtis of the Rutland Herald wrote this story about Vermont Manufacturing Services, which was saved from going out of existence last year by its new owner, 30-year old Jessica Dennison, and is now looking to double the number of people it employs over the next two years. She tells Curtis:
I feel like the employees are my family… The minute some people hear the word ‘disability’ they think they’re less capable but they’re not. Everyone who works here knows their job and they do it well. They’re amazing.
Have you read or heard any other news about contract labor opportunities for people with disabilities? Share in the comments section below.