April 29 -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) invites public comments to OMB by June 1, 2021 on its proposal to conduct the Current Population Survey (CPS) Disability Supplement in July 2021.
The July 2021 CPS Disability Supplement will be conducted at the request of the Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office. The Disability Supplement will provide information on the low labor force participation rates for people with disabilities; the use of and satisfaction with programs that prepare people with disabilities for employment; the work history, barriers to employment, and workplace accommodations reported by persons with a disability; and the effect of financial assistance programs on the likelihood of working. Since the supplement was last collected in 2019, work patterns have changed, policies have changed, and assistive technologies have advanced due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Information will be collected about barriers to employment, prior work experience, and the use of available career and financial assistance for all people with disabilities. For employed people with disabilities, the survey will gather data on their level of difficulty completing work duties; whether they requested accommodations in the workplace and the nature of the accommodations; modes of commuting; and whether they work at home, have flexible hours, or have temporary jobs.
Data gathered in this supplement will help measure the effectiveness of disability employment policies and assist policy makers in developing future policies that further the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
Because this supplement is part of the CPS, in which detailed demographic data are collected, estimates can be produced for a variety of subpopulations. Given sufficient sample size, comparisons will be possible across characteristics such as sex, age, and educational attainment.
The CPS Disability Supplement was last conducted in 2019, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a dearth of high quality data specifically about the nature of labor market challenges facing people with disabilities. This information—in combination with information collected in the monthly CPS, such as demographic characteristics and employment status—will help guide lawmakers to determine if new policies or regulations are needed to protect these and other types of workers. It will also provide data that can be used by the Department of Labor to help evaluate the effectiveness of their assistance efforts.
The July 2021 supplement will be conducted in conjunction with the CPS, for which the universe is 128 million households. From this universe, the Census Bureau selects a sample of approximately 70,000 households each month, of which approximately 60,000 households are eligible for interviews. The Census Bureau actually interviews about 50,000 households each month. The items in the supplement are asked, as appropriate, for members of the households. The response rate for the July 2019 supplement was 79 percent, and a similar response rate is expected in July 2021. Survey results will appear as a news release in 2022.
2019 CPS Disability Supplement release: Persons with a Disability: Barriers to Employment and Other Labor-Related Issues (May 2020)
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/dissup.toc.htm
2019 CPS Disability Supplement, Census Bureau:
https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/2019/demo/cps/cps-disability.html
July 2021 CPS Disability Supplement submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202101-1220-003 Click on IC List for survey instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation
FR notice inviting public comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/04/29/2021-08934/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-for-omb-review-comment-request-current
Point of contact: Dorinda Allard, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics allard.dorinda@bls.gov (202) 691-6470
