Study: Disabled people at a disadvantage in the labor market
According to a new study, people with disabilities continue to be structurally disadvantaged on the labor market in Baden-Württemberg. More than a quarter of the obligated companies in the state do not employ people with disabilities. This is according to the Inclusion Barometer of Aktion Mensch, which the Bonn-based aid organization published on Thursday. The inadequate willingness to hire is standing in the way of a real improvement.
Employers in Germany are obliged to employ severely disabled people if they have 20 or more employees. If this mandatory quota of five percent is not met, employers must pay a compensatory levy for every unfilled mandatory job.
In the southwest, this means more than 24,000 companies. The proportion of employers who filled all mandatory jobs fell to just under 35% in 2022 - the lowest figure since the first Inclusion Barometer was published in 2013. This puts the state slightly below the national average of 39%.
Although the number of unemployed people with disabilities fell last year - the annual average fell by 6.2 percent to 15,205 compared to 2021 - the recovery was short-lived, according to the study by the Handelsblatt Research Institute: since March 2023, the number has been higher than in 2022. "The economic downturn has now also reached the labor market," said Bert Rürup, President of the Institute. The expected shrinking overall economic performance this year is also once again clouding the labor market opportunities of people with disabilities.
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities has fallen to almost eight percent in 2022 - but is still more than twice as high as the general rate. The figures show a similar trend across Germany, but at different levels. In Germany as a whole, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was just under eleven percent in 2022. According to the study, people without disabilities are more than twice as likely to find a new job as people with disabilities.
For Aktion-Mensch spokesperson Christina Marx, this development is incomprehensible. Despite the shortage of skilled workers, many companies would recklessly forgo the potential of inclusion. "Germany is still miles away from achieving equal rights - almost 15 years after the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force, which describes the right to participate in the labor market," she commented on the situation.
The findings of the study suggest that aid organizations like Aktion Mensch need to increase their efforts to encourage more companies to hire people with disabilities, as only 35% of obligated companies in Baden-Württemberg meet their mandatory hiring quota. This disparity in the labor market for individuals with disabilities is hindering their chances of securing employment, with the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remaining significantly higher than the general rate.
Source: www.dpa.com
