Revealed: Disabled Persons Employment Rates By Type Of Impairment

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show how government initiatives have failed to help sufficient numbers of sick and disabled people into work.

The figures show that unemployment rates among those with debilitating health conditions and disabilities remains stubbornly high.

People with learning difficulties are less likely to be in work than any other group (just 10%) and only around 14 % of those suffering from mental illnesses like phobias and panic disorders have a jo

The employment rate among people with anxiety and/or depressions sits at a lowly 33%, according to government figures.

At the other end of the scale, 61% of people with diabetes have a job and 58% of those with severe disfigurements, skin conditions, allergies and heart and/or lung problems are in work.

Of those disabled people in work, the majority are in areas such as teaching, childcare, nursing, finance and secretarial roles and are less likely to be engineers, electricians, artists or police officers.

The freedom of information which revealed the shocking low employment rates (pdf) also revealed that of 1,824 disabled people made redundant by Remploy who gave their permission to 'tracked', only 967 have so far found a job.

The DWP's figures only include ex-Remploy workers who found work lasting more than 16 hours a week. The department has admitted that it does not know whether those jobs are (were) permanent or temporary.