Disability statistics - unemployment and people outside the labour force
Eurostat Statistics Explained article (data extracted October 2025) based on the 2024 EU Labour Force Survey. Unemployment among 15–64-year-olds with a severe disability was 11.6% versus 5.9% without disability; 45.0% of those unemployed had been jobless for a year or more, and 67.7% were outside the labour force versus 21.8%.
Employment and social developments in Europe 2025
European Commission ESDE review (September 2025) with a section on persons with disabilities as untapped labour. In 2024 just over 56% of 20–64-year-olds with disabilities participated in the labour market versus about 84% without, and the disability employment gap was about 24 pp, up from 22.7 pp in 2014. It notes employers often overestimate the cost-benefit of hiring and that potential loss of benefits discourages participation.
Employment of persons with disabilities: Statistics – 2022 data
European Disability Expertise statistical report by Eszter Zólyomi for the European Commission (State of affairs July 2024, published 2025), tracking EU disability employment over 2012–2022 from EU-SILC, EHIS and EU-LFS. The employment rate of persons with disabilities reached 54.3% in 2022, while the gap with persons without disabilities only edged down from 22.3 to 21.4 percentage points over the decade.
Disability Onset and Labour Market Outcomes
Using administrative data from Germany, the study finds lasting negative impacts of disability onset on employment and wages. Nonemployment days of the newly disabled increase by 36 days per year after one year and by 55 days after five years compared to a control group. For those who stay employed, working part-time and switching to less physically or psychosocially demanding jobs are important adjustment paths.
European comparative data on persons with disabilities: Equal opportunities, fair working conditions, social protection and inclusion – Analysis and trends, Data 2022
EU-SILC-based comparative compendium by Stefanos Grammenos (Centre for European Social and Economic Policy) for the European Commission's DG EMPL, November 2024. It estimates 26.3 million of 48.4 million working-age persons with disabilities were employed in 2022; the EU disability employment gap was 21.4 pp, ranging from 8.5 pp in Luxembourg to 37.0 pp in Ireland.
EDF 7th Human Rights Report. The Right to Work: The employment situation of persons with disabilities in Europe
European Disability Forum human rights report (April 2023) on employment of persons with disabilities across the EU, combining data with testimonies and policy recommendations. Only 51.3% of active working-age persons with disabilities are in paid employment; the EU disability employment gap averages 24.4 pp, reaching 38.6 pp in Ireland. Lack of reasonable accommodation and structural discrimination are named as key causes.
The Employment Effects of the Disability Education Gap in Europe
IZA Discussion Paper No. 15932 (February 2023) by Maciej Albinowski, Iga Magda and Agata Rozszczypała, using EU-SILC 2011–2019. Tertiary education raises employment far more for persons with disabilities than for others, and about 20% of the disability employment gap among 25–34-year-olds is attributable to the education gap.
Disability and Labour Market Integration: Policy Trends and Support in EU Member States
This 2021 Eurofound report analyses over 150 policy measures that were in place in EU Member States before the onset of COVID-19. It cites Eurostat figures showing an employment rate of 50.8% for people with disabilities compared with 75% for people without, and notes that the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges they face.