New study reveals the best industries for disabled workers

UKS Mobility, a disability aid supplier in the UK recently, the team at UKS Mobility have conducted a study into disability accommodation in the workplace, revealing the Public Sector as one of the best industries for disabled people to work in. The study used data from the Labour Force Survey, as well as an investigation of the businesses signed up to the Disability Confident scheme to analyse disability accommodation at work.

The Public Sector has the most businesses, which hold “Leader” and “Employer” status on the Disability Confident scheme, with 10% of the 1,000 businesses being recognised as Leaders. This is followed by Administration, which had the third-highest percentage of Leaders (2.68%) but had a higher percentage of Employers (26.44%).

This is compared with third-place Energy, Utilities and Environment, which boasts 2.78% Leaders and 17.36% Employers.

The scheme is used by over 20,000 businesses across the UK and showcases employers’ commitment to equity for disabled people.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Armed Forces and Warehouse & Forklift industries have no businesses above Committed, which could suggest that disability accommodation should be a major focus for employers in these sectors.

The study by UKS Mobility also revealed:

• Scotland has the second-lowest rate of unemployment (2.7%) for non-disabled people but the second-highest employment gap (4.9%) for disabled workers.
• Of those who are economically active, disabled people are still twice as likely to be unemployed.
• Mental illnesses and disabilities like depression, autism and epilepsy have an unemployment rate as much as 360% times higher than those with physical disabilities.