Most news coverage of the U.S. Department of Labor’s February employment report focused on what the good news of adding around 227,000 jobs will mean for President Obama’s re-election campaign. A deeper look at the numbers, however, indicated bad news for people with disabilities and those who advocate for improving their employment prospects.
As Shaun Heasley reported Friday on DisabilityScoop.com, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was at 15.8% in February, up almost a full 3% from the 12.9% rate at the start of the year. The increase in joblessness among this population almost eliminates completely the gains made since September of last year, when unemployment reached 16.1% before dropping to its lowest rate since April 2009.
Even before the latest figures were released, reporter Pat Ferrier of The Coloradoan was tracking the increasingly difficult road for people with disabilities in Larimer County, Colorado; where 11,000 people were still without work at the end of December despite having large-scale employers like Hewlett-Packard, Anheuser-Busch, and Colorado State University in its region.
For her article, “Job market tougher on those with disabilities,” Ferrier talks to a number of people with disabilities struggling with the negative perceptions prospective employers have about them. The article leads off with a portrait of Patric VanCampen, a 38-year-old with an associate’s degree, scads of practical experience, and a hearing impairment that makes him perceived differently by people he encounters. He tells Ferrier in an email:
The only difference is that we cannot hear. But we can answer the phone, order pizza and do all the things other people do.
Ferrier talks to one employment specialist who tells her it’s “three times harder” to help a person with a disability find a job in the current environment. Not only are these candidates having to overcome false perceptions on the employer’s part, but also the overall increase in number of unemployed people means more candidates vying for the same or fewer number of jobs.
John Arnolfo offers Ferrier the bright side to employing people with disabilities. He has been hiring them to work at the Silver Grill Cafe’ for more than 25 years with success. One of the article’s accompanying photos by Kevin Duggan shows Arnolfo clasping hands with employee Johnny Primsky as they accept a 2011 Employer of the Year Award. Primsky has been a prep cook at the grill for two years, and Arnolfo has nothing but glowing reports:
He has surpassed expectations… He comes in right on time, does the job asked of him, always has a smile on his face and always wants to be part of what’s going on. Not to downplay my other employees but he truly values his job and values the relationship he has created with me and his fellow employees.
More examples like Johnny Primsky’s need to be brought to the public in order to reverse the downward trend of hiring people with disabilities. Please share your story in the comments section.
Image by Nancy Pelosi, used under its Creative Commons license.