Working Paper

Decomposing Recent Employment Gains Among Disabled Workers

Abstract: We use the longitudinal component of the Current Population Survey to compare transition rates into and out of disability and employment prior to and after the onset of the pandemic. We find that one-third of the increased employment rate among disabled people is due to the excess incidence of disability seen following the pandemic, while the other two-thirds is attributable to higher participation among people whose disabilities were unrelated to the pandemic. Further, we find evidence that these increases are concentrated in occupations with higher rates of telework.

JEL Classification: J22; J14;

https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2025.095

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Part of Series: Finance and Economics Discussion Series

Publication Date: 2025-10-15

Number: 2025-095