Disability touches all of us. Of the 79.6 million families included in the 2019 American Community Survey, over a quarter (25.7%) had at least one family member with a disability. In October 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the labor force participation rate among workers aged 16-64 years, was 40.4%.
But disability is also a factor in poverty and exclusion from the workforce. The American Community Survey found that the median earnings of people with disabilities ages 16 and over in the US in 2021 was $28,438, about two-thirds of the median earnings of people without disabilities, $40,948.
Education and employment are essential to improving the lives and independence of people with disabilities. Policies that support access to transportation, housing, health care, and community living can help address some of the greatest challenges to independence those with disabilities face.
Our Work
People with disabilities who receive a high-quality education and enter the workforce prepared are not only a benefit to themselves, but to their families, employers, and communities. AIR’s diverse portfolio of work on disability issues provides both expertise and resources to help people with disabilities pursue employment opportunities and gain economic security. Our policy recommendations support people with disabilities by helping them live more independently and more connected to their communities.
Our work generates knowledge and resources that help people with disabilities find jobs and succeed in them. We also conduct and translate research, provide technical assistance, and recommend policies to support greater access for people with disabilities that lead to independent living and community inclusion. This work includes the intersection of disability with special education, patient-centered health care, college and career readiness for youth with disabilities, criminal justice, refugee and migrant initiatives, and people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
AIR’s disability and rehabilitation experts include:
- Disability researchers and program evaluators
- In-house survey methodologists
- Interviewers and focus group leaders
- Experts in creative visual design
- Economists to maximize investments
- Professional training developers
- Human-centered design experts
- Disability policy analysts
- Knowledge translation experts
