Workers with disabilities have lower incomes and higher unemployment in Brazil

Professionals with disabilities earn less, have higher unemployment and face more difficulties to participate in the labor market in Brazil, especially the formal one.

The conclusions are from a study released by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) this Wednesday (21), National Day of Struggle for Persons with Disabilities. The publication addresses inequalities in areas such as work, income and education.

According to the IBGE, Brazil had 4.2 million people aged 14 and over with disabilities and engaged in some type of work in 2019, before the pandemic.

Of this contingent, only 34.3% (1.5 million) worked formally. Among workers without disabilities, the formalization rate was higher, at 50.9%, according to the IBGE.

In 2019, the average income from work of professionals with a disability was BRL 1,639 per month. This income was 37.4% lower than that estimated for workers without disabilities (R$ 2,619), taking into account deflated values ​​for July 2021.

Workers with disabilities received a lower income in all ten groups of economic activities analyzed. These professionals, says the IBGE, were more concentrated in sectors that traditionally have lower salaries. Domestic services, agriculture and accommodation and food are part of the list.

“The lower remuneration of people with disabilities appears in all groups of activities, but there is also the effect that they are more concentrated in activities with lower income. This diversity of situations shows the need for adapted policies”, analyzes Leonardo Athias, an analyst at the IBGE

According to the study, the unemployment rate of people with a disability was 10.3% in 2019. Unemployment at the time was higher than that observed among people without disabilities (9%).

Another indicator highlighted by the IBGE is the participation rate, which is calculated from the division of the workforce (employed and unemployed) by the total population of working age (14 years and over). This is an indicator of the attractiveness of the labor market.

In 2019, the participation rate of people with disabilities was 28.3%. The percentage is equivalent to less than half of that found among Brazilians without disabilities: 66.3%.

“There are difficulties in entering the job market, and when they succeed, this vacancy is proportionately more informal, of worse quality and with fewer rights. There are also differences between the types of disabilities. In the case of people with mental disabilities, the insertion in the job market is even more difficult”, says Athias.

The IBGE publication considered the PNS (National Health Survey) 2019 as the main source of data. That year, the PNS identified 17.2 million people aged two years and over with disabilities. The number corresponded to 8.4% of the estimated population in this age group.

The data include people with physical disabilities (lower or upper limbs), visual, mental, hearing or more than one.

In the year before the pandemic, according to the IBGE, 5.1% of people with disabilities in the country were below the extreme poverty line (US$ 1.9 per day). The percentage below the poverty line (US$ 5.5 per day) was 18.2%. Among Brazilians without disabilities, these rates were 5% and 22%, respectively.