[nabs-l] unemployment rate

Kirt Manwaring kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
Mon Feb 14 20:56:57 UTC 2011


Sean,
  I'd like to point out a few things.
  First...other disabilities, particularly severe cognative
disabilities, are extremely relivant to a person's job eligability.  I
don't want to sound prejudiced...but that's just the way it is.  I
know lots of people with severe mental disabilities who happen to be
blind as well and, while I'm not under-valuing them as people, I am
fully aware that some of those disabilities impact a person's ability
to work.  That's why I'm curious what the unemployment rate is for
people who are only blind...because, for a lot of those people, other
severe cognative disabilities are definitely a factor in their
unemployed status.
  As for the question about blind people working in the blindness
field...I'm a little lost as to why you think I was implying that was
inferior.  I'm just curious because that's where most blind people I
know work.  Indeed I'm hard-pressed to find a totally blind person in
my local area who I know that doesn't work in the blindness field...so
I think it's a legitimate question.  It's like if I were to ask what
percentage of the American working population works in, say, the
lobbying business.  That, to me, does not imply the inferiority or
superiority of that kind of work...it just means I'm interested to
know how many employed blind people have jobs in the blindness field.
Do you see my point?  I just want to know because I'm a blind person
and most blind people I know work primarily with other blind
people...so I wonder if anyone has any kind of data to show how many
blind people work outside of the blindness arena.  That's all, I just
want to know because I'm probably not going to have a job in the field
of blindness and I want to see where that puts me, percentage-wise.
In this case, I'm not looking down my nose at anyone.
  All the best,
Kirt

On 2/14/11, Sean Whalen <smwhalenpsp at gmail.com> wrote:
> People who are not actively looking for employment are considered not to be
> part of the labor force.
>
>
>
> Of course the 30% for nonblind folks' rate of nonparticipation is vastly
> higher than the rate that would apply to only those, say, under 65.
>
>
>
> Blind people with other disabilities are blind people too, so why shouldn't
> we count them? Nonblind folks with other disabilities count in the general
> unemployment and labor force nonparticipation rates. Sure, you could figure
> out an unemployment rate for people who are blind and have no other
> disabilities, but how is that instructive? You could also find the rate for
> the blind people who have no additional disability, a college degree and
> IQ's above the national average, but then you are hand selecting who you are
> looking at and ignore the population as a whole.
>
>
>
> I wouldn't trust numbers from AFB - they say there are 25 million blind or
> visually impaired people in the US. Right. And NFB has 50,000 members.
>
>
>
> Finally, related to the initial post, why does it matter how many of the
> blind people with jobs work in the blindness field? That hearkens back to
> the ridiculous notion that these are somehow lesser jobs. Yes, it may be
> easier to get them because you are working with and being hired by people
> who have experience with blindness, and are therefore less likely to be
> freaked out by it, but they are not inferior jobs, nor are those who do them
> less successful people.
>
>
>
> Sorry for the list of disjointed thoughts, but take them for what they're
> worth.
>
>
>
> Take care,
>
>
>
> Sean
>
>
>
>
>
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