Long-Term Unemployment and Disability: Evidence-Based Re-Entry Strategies
The Challenge
Long-term unemployment (12+ months without work) affects over 15 million people across OECD countries at any given time. People with disabilities are disproportionately represented: in the UK, disabled people are three times more likely to be long-term unemployed than non-disabled people (DWP, 2023).
The longer someone is out of work, the harder re-entry becomes. Skills atrophy, confidence declines, social networks shrink, and employer bias against CV gaps intensifies.
What Works: The Evidence
Individual Placement and Support (IPS)
IPS is the most evidence-based supported employment model in the world, with over 30 randomised controlled trials demonstrating its effectiveness:
- Core principles: Rapid job search (no extended "pre-vocational" training), competitive employment as the goal, integration with clinical support, individualised job matching, time-unlimited support
- Results: IPS achieves 55–65% employment rates for people with serious mental illness — compared to 20–25% for traditional vocational services (Bond et al., 2020)
- Adopted in: UK (NHS England), US (VA system), Australia, several EU countries
- Works for: Originally developed for severe mental illness, now proven effective for other disabilities and long-term health conditions