Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-skm99 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T06:10:13.766Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A landscape of disadvantage: The impact of disability on earning and learning in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2021

James A. Athanasou Open the ORCID record for James A. Athanasou [Opens in a new window]
James A. Athanasou*
Affiliation:
Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: athanasou@gmail.com
Get access

Abstract

This paper describes the impact of disability in Australia on earning and learning. The report is based on the official statistics on Disability Ageing and Carers by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Whilst 67.9% of those aged 15–64 years without a reported disability complete Year 12 only 43.6% of those with a disability complete the highest level of secondary schooling. In the labor market, the participation rate is lower for persons with a disability (53.4%) compared to 84.1% for those without a disability. Even when people with disabilities are ready to work it is accompanied by a higher rate of unemployment (10.3%) compared with 4.6% for those without a disability. Whilst general labor force participation has increased from 2003 to 2018 the labor force participation of persons with a disability has remained stubbornly constant. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for person with a disability has increased markedly from 2009 while that for persons without a disability has decreased. When the influence of all these factors is combined there is an overwhelming landscape of disadvantage within which a person with a disability has to navigate an educational and vocational pathway.

Keywords

Disabilityunemploymenteducationincomeworklife expectancy
Type
Professional or Policy Issue Paper
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , July 2021 , pp. 1 - 12
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press and The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Athanasou, J. A. (1999). Disability and employment in Australia. Some positives and negatives. Australian Journal of Career Development, 8, 18–22. doi: 10.3316/aeipt.98043 Google Scholar
Athanasou, J. A. (2014). The impact of disability status on education and work in Australia. Australian Journal of Career Development, 23, 100–104. doi: 10.1177/1038416214527436 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Athanasou, J. A. (2015). Living, working and earning for people with disabilities in Australia. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24, 178–183. doi: 10.1177/1038416215594632 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Athanasou, J. A., Murphy, G. C., & Mpofu, E. (2019). The impact of disabilities on earning or learning in Australia and the implications for career development. Australian Journal of Career Development, 28(2), 103–111. doi: 10.1177/1038416218772062 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009). Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: Summary of findings. Catalogue No. 4430.0. Canberra: Author.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019). Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2018. Catalogue No. 4430.0. Canberra: Author.Google Scholar
Gamboa, A. M. (1998). The new worklife expectancy tables. Kentucky: Vocational Econometrics.Google Scholar
Preacher, K. J. (2001, April). Calculation for the chi-square test: An interactive calculation tool for chi-square tests of goodness of fit and independence [Computer software]. Available from http://quantpsy.org.Google Scholar