Unemployment rate by disability status, sex, and age, 2009-16 annual averages

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This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from United States statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from American statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other American-specific metadata information.

Indicator

Unemployment rate by disability status, sex, and age, 2009-23 annual averages
Organisation

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics/Current Population Survey
Definition and concepts

The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed persons as a percent of the civilian labor force. Unemployed persons are those who had no employment during the reference week, were available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as unemployed. The civilian labor force comprises all persons classified as employed or unemployed. The CPS uses a set of six questions to identify persons with disabilities. In the CPS, persons are classified as having a disability if there is a response of ““yes”” to any of these questions: 1. Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty hearing? 2. Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? 3. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? 4. Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? 5. Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing? 6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?
Unit of measure

Percent
Data sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics/Current Population Survey - https://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm
Data providers

BLS Division of International Technical Cooperation staff
Comment and limitations

The questions noted above were added to the CPS in June 2008 to identify persons with a disability in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. The collection of these data is sponsored by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The component of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. Additional information about the reliability of data from the CPS and estimating standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. CPS estimates are controlled to population totals that are available by age, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity. These controls are developed by the Census Bureau and are based on complete population counts obtained in the decennial census. In the years between decennial censuses, they incorporate the latest information about population change (births, deaths, and net international migration). As part of its annual update of population estimates, the Census Bureau introduces adjustments to the total population controls. The updated controls typically have a negligible impact on unemployment rates and other ratios. The estimates of the population of persons with a disability are not controlled to independent population totals of persons with a disability because such data are not available. Without independent population totals, sample-based estimates are more apt to vary from one time period to the next. Information about population controls is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Method of computation

Source: Current Population Survey (CPS) - a monthly national sample household survey. Technical Documentation and Methodology: https://www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm
Date of national source publication

February 2024
Periodicity

Annual
Scheduled update by national source

Annual data for 2024 will be available in February 2025
Date metadata updated

July 2024
Disaggregation categories

Disability status, sex, and age
International and national references

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - www.bls.gov
Time period

2009-2023

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator

Indicator 8.5.2: Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Target

Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
Organisation

International Labour Organization (ILO)
Definition and concepts

Definition:

The unemployment rate conveys the percentage of persons in the labour force who are unemployed.

Concepts:

Unemployed persons are defined as all those of working age (usually aged 15 and above) who were not in employment, carried out activities to seek employment during a specified recent period and were currently available to take up employment given a job opportunity, where: (a) “not in employment” is assessed with respect to the short reference period for the measurement of employment; (b) to “seek employment” refers to any activity when carried out, during a specified recent period comprising the last four weeks or one month, for the purpose of finding a job or setting up a business or agricultural undertaking; (c) the point when the enterprise starts to exist should be used to distinguish between search activities aimed at setting up a business and the work activity itself, as evidenced by the enterprise’s registration to operate or by when financial resources become available, the necessary infrastructure or materials are in place or the first client or order is received, depending on the context; (d) “currently available” serves as a test of readiness to start a job in the present, assessed with respect to a short reference period comprising that used to measure employment (depending on national circumstances, the reference period may be extended to include a short subsequent period not exceeding two weeks in total, so as to ensure adequate coverage of unemployment situations among different population groups).

Persons in employment are defined as all those of working age (usually aged 15 and above) who, during a short reference period such as one week or one day, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit. The difference between the 13th and 19th ICLS series for a given country is the operational criteria used to define employment, with two series based on the statistical standards from the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) and the other two series based on 19th ICLS standards. In the 19th ICLS series, employment is defined more narrowly as work done for pay or profit, while activities not done mainly in exchange for remuneration (i.e., own-use production work, volunteer work and unpaid trainee work) are recognized as other forms of work.

The labour force corresponds to the sum of persons in employment and in unemployment.

For more information on the definitions of employment and unemployment refer to the Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization Adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians.

Unit of measure

Percent (%)
Data sources

The preferred official national data source for this indicator is a household-based labour force survey.

In the absence of a labour force survey, a population census and/or other type of household surveys with an appropriate employment module may also be used to obtain the required data. It is important to note that unemployment data derived from employment office records or unemployment registers would not refer to unemployment (as defined for the purposes of this indicator, using the three-criteria of being without a job, seeking employment and available for employment) but to registered unemployment, and thus, it would not be comparable with indicator 8.5.2.

Data providers

Mainly national statistical offices, and in some cases labour ministries or other related agencies, at the country-level. In some cases, regional or international statistical offices can also act as data providers.

Comment and limitations

Even though in most developed countries the unemployment rate is useful as an indicator of labour market performance, and specifically, as a key measure of labour underutilization, in many developing countries, the significance and meaning of the unemployment rate could be questioned. In the absence of unemployment insurance systems or social safety nets, persons of working age must avoid unemployment, resorting to engaging in some form of economic activity, however insignificant or inadequate. Thus, in this context, other measures should supplement the unemployment rate to comprehensively assess labour underutilization.

Method of computation

The computation is identical for both series:

U n e m p l o y m e n t   r a t e =   T o t a l   u n e m p l o y m e n t T o t a l   l a b o u r   f o r c e   × 100

Metadata update

2024-08-02
International organisations(s) responsible for global monitoring

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Related indicators

1.1.1, 8.2.1, 8.3.1, 8.6.1, 10.4.1
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