Growth and Jobs

Presentation Prof. Mark Priestley:
Audio (mp3 16 min)
Powerpoint (pdf 50 kB)
Handout (pdf 26 kB)

There is still a significant lack of data on the employment situation of disabled people, with some countries still relying on employment data from the 2002 LFS ad hoc module.

There is an increased attention to disability and employment in some countries (e.g. Cyprus, Sweden and Latvia). However, progress on planned actions is not always clearly reported and the issue of disability is still missing from some reports (e.g. Bulgaria, Italy and Finland). The report indicates few actions by member states addressing accessibility. None of the reports made any reference to the process of ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The impact of the economic crisis on disabled people varies across Europe. In some countries disability-related benefits have been frozen or cut, but in others (such as Belgium and France) they have been protected or increased in some cases. Two common trends are attempts to limit eligibility to disability-related benefits and to increase inclusion of disabled people in the labour market. Across Europe there is also extensive use of increased wage subsidies to support employment for disabled people in a difficult market.