Labour market characteristics of persons with and without disabilities, 2024

Highlights

• From 2023 to 2024, the employment rate fell by 0.7 percentage points to 46.4% among persons with disabilities and by 0.7 percentage points to 66.2% among persons without disabilities.
• Young men aged 15 to 24 with disabilities recorded a notable decline in their employment rate, which fell 7.7 percentage points to 39.7%. The employment rate also fell among young women with disabilities (-6.5 percentage points to 49.2%).
• The unemployment rate was up among persons with disabilities (+0.5 percentage points to 8.1%) but increased more among those without disabilities (+1.0 percentage points to 5.6%), reducing the unemployment rate gap between both groups. However, there was a decline in the share of persons with disabilities who participate in the labour market.
• Due to slower wage growth among employees with disabilities, the gap in average hourly wages between employees with and without disabilities widened from $1.91 in 2023 to $2.22 in 2024.
• Employees with disabilities were more likely to be unionized, partly due to their greater concentration in the public sector. Since 2022, access to paid sick leave, medical or dental insurance and paid vacation leave has trended up among employees with disabilities.
• Compared with persons without disabilities, a larger proportion of persons with disabilities who were not in the labour force said they wanted a job.

Introduction

Since 2022, data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) supplements program have allowed Statistics Canada to report labour market indicators for persons with and without disabilities on an annual basis, complementing the in-depth portrait provided by the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) every five years. Together, the two sources inform on the labour market integration of persons with disabilities in the context of the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act and the Canada Disability Benefit.

This article begins by providing information on how persons with disabilities have fared in the labour market in 2024, in a context where labour market conditions were generally easing across Canada. Indicators which speak to the ability of persons with disabilities to be employed are complemented by information on the characteristics of employment and job quality.

The second part of the article focuses on persons with disabilities who are out of labour force—that is who are not employed or unemployed. This section describes the overrepresentation of persons with disabilities among those who do not participate in the labour market, as well as differences by age group and gender. It also reveals the extent to which persons with disabilities outside the labour force would like to work but were either not immediately available or not searching.

Labour market characteristics of persons with and without disabilities in 2024

The employment rate of persons with and without disabilities declines

2024 marked another year of easing in the labour market following the unprecedented increase in job vacancies recorded during the summer of 2022. The unemployment rate generally trended up, with the rate rising from 5.8% in December 2023 to 6.7% in December 2024. At the same time, job vacancies declined throughout most of 2024, and the job vacancy rate fell from 3.6% in December 2023 to 3.0% in December 2024.^Note 

In both 2023 and 2024, the overall employment rate—the proportion of the population who are employed—declined in Canada, as population was growing more quickly than employment.

After recording little change from 2022 to 2023, the employment rate of persons with disabilities fell by 0.7 percentage points to 46.4% in 2024, while the employment rate decreased among persons without disabilities for a second year in a row, dropping 0.7 percentage points to 66.2%.

Notable decline in the employment rate of young men and women with disabilities in 2024

The decrease in the overall employment rate of persons with disabilities in 2024 was attributable to men, whose employment rate fell 2.2 percentage points to 46.9%. The employment rate fell the most among young men aged 15 to 24 years (-7.7 percentage points to 39.7%). The employment rate declined by 2.2 percentage points to 26.3% among men with disabilities aged 55 years and over but was little changed among their counterparts in the core-aged group of 25- to 54-year-olds (73.9%).

The employment rate of women with disabilities was little changed at 45.9% in 2024. A 6.5 percentage points decline among young women with disabilities (55.7% to 49.2%), was partially offset by a 1.7 percentage points gain among core-aged women (72.4% to 74.1%).

The drop in the employment rate of youth with disabilities has taken place in the context of a general decline in the proportion of youth who are employed. From 2023 to 2024, the employment rate of 15- to 24-year-olds without disabilities fell by 1.9 percentage points to 55.8%. The larger decline in the employment rate of youth with disabilities may point to fewer opportunities for barrier-free employment as the number of job vacancies decline.

Employment rate little changed among persons with a more severe disability, down among those with a less severe disability

The severity of a person’s disability tends to be associated with a lower probability of being employed. In 2024, over half (54.7%) of those with a less severe disability were employed, compared with over one-quarter (26.4%) of persons with a more severe disability. From 2023 to 2024, the employment rate of persons with a less severe disability decreased 1.5 percentage points while it remained virtually unchanged for those with a more severe disability.

Slower increase in unemployment among persons with disabilities

The unemployment rate increased twice as much among persons without disabilities (+1.0 percentage point to 5.6%) than among those with disabilities (+0.5 percentage points to 8.1%) in 2024, resulting in a narrowing of the unemployment rate gap between both groups—from 3.0 percentage points in 2023 to 2.5 percentage points in 2024.

This trend was observed among men and women in all age groups, except for young men, where the gap in the unemployment rate widened from 7.4 percentage points in 2023 to 9.9 percentage points in 2024.

The smaller overall increase in the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities occurred alongside a decline in their labour force participation rate from 2023 to 2024 (-0.6 percentage points to 50.4%), and slower growth in the number of persons with disabilities who were looking for work (+9.7%, compared with +25.9%, among those without disabilities).

Nevertheless, across all age groups, persons with disabilities continued to experience higher unemployment rates than those without disabilities, pointing to the persistence of barriers that make it more difficult for persons with disabilities to find employment.

Smaller gaps in the employment rates of persons with and without disabilities in Nova Scotia and Alberta

In 2024, the employment rate of persons with disabilities continued to be lower than the employment rate of persons without disabilities in all provinces. The gap in the employment rate between both groups was wider in Ontario and Quebec (21.3 percentage points), and narrower in Nova Scotia (16.6 percentage points) and Alberta (16.8 percentage points).

Compared with 2023, the employment rate of persons with disabilities fell in New Brunswick (-3.6 percentage points to 42.5%), Prince Edward Island (-3.6 percentage points to 46.8%), British Columbia (-2.1 percentage points to 46.8%) and Quebec (-1.5 percentage points to 44.6%), while it increased in Nova Scotia (+3.9 percentage points to 47.7%) and Saskatchewan (+2.1 percentage points to 51.5%).

More detailed information at the provincial level is available in the following Statistics Canada tables: Labour market indicators for persons with and without disabilities, annual, Labour market indicators for persons with disabilities by disability type, annual and Employment characteristics for persons with and without disabilities, annual.

Employed persons with disabilities were less likely to work in the relatively high-paying private sector industries of professional, scientific and technical services and finance and insurance

Consistent with patterns observed in 2023, workers with disabilities in 2024 were more likely than their peers without disabilities to work in health care and social assistance (15.7% compared with 13.1%) and public administration (7.6% compared with 5.6%). Overall, a larger proportion of employees with disabilities were working in the public sector (28.0%, compared with 22.8% for employees without disabilities).

Similar to 2023, workers with disabilities continued to have a lower probability of working in the relatively high-paying private sector industries of professional, scientific and technical services (9.1% compared with 10.3% for those without disabilities), and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (6.0% compared with 7.6%). Both industries were among the top 5 in terms of the average hourly wages of employees in 2024.^Note 

However, the proportion of workers with disabilities in professional, scientific and technical services increased by 1.3 percentage points from 2023 to 2024, with the number of employed persons with disabilities working in this industry (+18.5%) increasing at a faster pace than among those without disabilities (+2.3%).

The proportion of men with disabilities working in construction fell by 2.1 percentage points to 11.2% in 2024. This proportion was 1.6 percentage points lower than among men without disabilities (12.8%).

Slower wage growth among employees with disabilities

The average hourly wage of employees increased overall in 2024, but at a slower pace among persons with disabilities (+$1.47 or +4.6%), than among those without disabilities (+$1.78 or +5.3%). As a result, the hourly wage gap between both groups widened from $1.91 in 2023 to $2.22 in 2024. This meant that, on average, employees with disabilities earned 93.8% of the average hourly wage of employees without disabilities.

Based on average weekly earnings, the wage gap was wider at 91.2% or $115.21 per week in 2024, reflecting the shorter hours usually worked per week by employees with disabilities (34.6 hours per week) compared with those without disabilities (35.5 hours per week).

Since persons with disabilities are older on average, the difference in average wages may underestimate the wage penalty associated with having disabilities. If the distribution of employees with disabilities by age group was the same as the age distribution of employees without disabilities, the average weekly wage of employees with disabilities would have been 89.2% of the average weekly wage of employees without disabilities in 2024.^Note 

Employees with disabilities are more likely to be unionized and to have access to medical or dental insurance

Partly owing to their greater concentration in the public sector, employees with disabilities are more likely to be unionized. In 2024, 33.8% of employees with disabilities were covered by a collective bargaining agreement, compared with 29.4% among those without disabilities. From 2023 to 2024, the unionization rate increased slightly among employees with disabilities (+1.8 percentage points) but was little changed among their counterparts without disabilities.

Access to benefits such as paid sick leave, vacation leave, and medical insurance can support the integration and retention of persons with disabilities into employment. In 2024, 66.1% of employees with disabilities had access to paid sick leave, a proportion higher than the rate observed among those without disabilities (64.6%). While similar proportions of employees with and without disabilities had access to paid vacation leave (71.9% compared with 72.1%), a slightly larger proportion of employees with disabilities had access to medical or dental insurance (68.0% compared with 65.6%).

Access to paid sick leave (+6.9 percentage points), medical or dental insurance (+5.1 percentage points) and paid vacation leave (+3.9 percentage points) has trended up among employees with disabilities since 2022.

Notable increase in full-time employment for persons with disabilities

Opportunities to work fewer hours per week can help achieve a good balance between one’s work and personal life, for people with and without disabilities. However, some may work part-time because they were not able to find full-time work. From 2022 to 2024, persons with disabilities have been consistently more likely to work part-time involuntarily compared with those without disabilities. In 2024, 18.6% of persons with disabilities who worked part-time did so involuntarily, compared with 15.7% of part-time workers without disabilities.

The likelihood of holding a part-time job also remained higher in 2024 for workers with disabilities (21.3%) than for their peers without disabilities (17.4%). However, from 2023 to 2024, full-time employment increased faster among those with disabilities (+3.3%) than among those without disabilities (+1.8%), driven by notable full-time gains among core-aged workers with disabilities.

Disability and labour force participation across age groups

The labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population who are employed or unemployed—provides important information on the degree to which persons with disabilities can find employment or remain active in the labour market by searching for work. In 2024, half (50.4%) of persons with disabilities participated in the labour force, compared to seven out of ten (70.2%) among those without disabilities.

The gap in labour force participation between men and women is lower among persons with disabilities

While men tend to have a higher labour force participation rate than women overall, the gap in the participation rate of men and women is smaller or non-existent among persons with disabilities. This is because having a disability has a larger impact on the participation rate of men. Among men, the participation rate was 23.0 percentage points lower for persons with disabilities relative to those without disabilities in 2024 (51.6% compared with 74.6%), while among women, the gap between both groups was 15.9 percentage points (49.5% compared with 65.4%).

Half of core-aged men who are not participating in the labour force have a disability

While there are many reasons why people do not participate in the labour market, including retirement, and taking care of children or relatives, individuals with disabilities tend to be overrepresented among those not in the labour force, suggesting that disability may be a contributing factor.

In 2024, nearly 2 in 5 persons (39.0%) out of the labour force had disabilities, compared with slightly more than 1 in 5 among those in the labour force (21.7%). Some variations were present by gender and age group.

For women, the overrepresentation of persons with disabilities among people who were not in the labour force was more pronounced in older age groups. Among women aged 55 to 64, persons with disabilities represented 42.5% of people outside the labour force and 27.1% of people in the labour force. In comparison, young women aged 15 to 24 with disabilities accounted for 26.6% of those outside the labour force and 23.4% of those in the labour force.

Among men, overrepresentation was the highest within the core-aged group of 25 to 54, where 50.7% of persons not in the labour force had disabilities, compared with 17.9% of those in the labour force.

Challenges in the participation of youth with disabilities in education and the labour force

Compared with other age groups, the labour force participation rate of youth tends to be lower, as many are enrolled in full-time education.

However, in 2024, close to one in four (24.4%) youth with disabilities were not in education, employment, or training (NEET), twice the share (12.3%) observed among youth without disabilities. This may place youth with disabilities at higher risk of low income and social exclusion and reduce opportunities to acquire work experience and skills early on in their lives.

Further, while students often gain work experience through part-time employment, youth with disabilities face more challenges combining both activities. Among students with disabilities, a smaller share combined education and employment (34.6%) compared with students without disabilities (40.1%).

A higher proportion of persons with disabilities who are outside the labour force would like to work

If the definition of unemployment is expanded from the official unemployment rate^Note  to a broad definition encompassing all persons who are not in the labour force but want to work^Note —the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities would increase by 3.8 percentage points (up to 11.9%). In contrast, the unemployment rate of persons without disabilities would increase by 1.5 percentage points (up to 7.1%).

This indicates that among people who are not in the labour force, a higher share of persons with disabilities than without disabilities (9.3% compared with 6.0%) would like to work but may be limited in their ability to become available or to engage in job search activities.

Conclusion

Several long-standing trends in the labour market situation of persons with disabilities persisted in 2024, including lower labour force participation compared with those without disabilities—particularly among men—and lower average hourly wages. Further, in all provinces, persons with disabilities continued to have a lower employment rate.

As labour market conditions eased in 2024, the employment rate of persons with disabilities fell compared with 2023, and notable declines were recorded among young men and young women with disabilities. From 2023 to 2024, the unemployment rate increased less among persons with disabilities compared with persons without disabilities, but the labour force participation rate of persons with disabilities declined.

Partly due to their higher representation in the public sector, employees with disabilities were more likely than their counterparts without disabilities to be unionized in 2024. Further, the proportion of employees with disabilities who receive benefits such as paid sick leave and medical or dental insurance from their employer has trended up since 2022.

A deeper look at labour force participation revealed unique challenges for different age groups. Among core-aged men, half of those out of the labour force had disabilities. Among youth, persons with disabilities were twice as likely as those without disabilities to be neither in education, employment, or training. Further analysis also showed that, globally, more persons with disabilities wanted a job but were not immediately available.

Overall, the results indicate that broad changes in labour market conditions had an impact on persons with disabilities in 2024, while barriers that limit their full integration into the labour market continued to be present.

Start of text box

End of text box