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"Disabled Adults of Hispanic Origin" [President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped]
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6
DISABLED ADULTS
A STATISTICAL REPORT
DRAWN FROM
OF HISPANIC
CENSUS BUREAU DATA
ORIGIN
D
12345 12
1 123456 23
DISABLED ADULTS
A STATISTICAL REPORT
DRAWN FROM
OF HISPANIC
CENSUS BUREAU DATA
ORIGIN
About the Author
Frank Bowe, Ph.D., L.L.D., has become interested in the population of
persons of Spanish origin as this group has exploded in size during
the past decade. In 1972, while research scientist at New York Univer-
sity, he studied the special problems of persons who were members
of a linguistic minority within another minority, that of persons with
disabilities. This is his first in-depth review of the demographics of the
Hispanic disabled population.
His latest book is Computing and Special Needs, published by
Sybex, Inc., Berkeley, CA. Dr. Bowe lives with his wife and two
daughters in Lawrence, Long Island, NY.
Author's Note
This publication reports upon findings from the 1981 and 1982 Cur-
rent Population Survey (CPS) studies conducted by the Bureau of the
Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. The author acknowledges
with gratitude the assistance of John McNeil and Lawrence Haber of
the population division of the Bureau of the Census, and of Bernard
Posner, executive director of the President's Committee on Employ-
ment of the Handicapped.
iii
Table of Contents
List of Tables
vi
List of Figures
vii
Thumbnail Sketches
viii
Introduction
1
Executive Summary
3
Size of the Population
4
Characteristics of the Population
6
Age
6
Education
6
Residence
8
Marital Status
10
Labor Force Participation
15
Income and Economic Status
15
Occupational Category
19
Technical Notes
22
References
23
V
List of Tables
Table
Page
1.
Hispanic and White Disabled Adults Aged 16-64 and not
5
in Institutions, by Sex.
2.
Age Range, by Disability Status: Hispanic and White
7
Adults Aged 16-64 and not in Institutions.
3.
Years of School Completed: Disabled Hispanics, Non-
9
disabled Hispanics, and Disabled Whites Aged 16-64
and not in Institutions.
4.
Residential Patterns: Disabled Hispanics, Nondisabled
11
Hispanics, and Disabled Whites Aged 16-64 and not in
Institutions.
5.
Marital Status, by Disability Status: Hispanic Adults
13
Aged 16-64 and not in Institutions.
6.
Occupational Category, by Disability Status, by Sex:
21
Employed Hispanic Adults Aged 16-64 and not in
Institutions.
vi
List of Figures
Figure
Page
1.
Geographical Distribution: Disabled Hispanics, Nondis-
12
abled Hispanics, and Disabled Whites Aged 16-64 and
not in Institutions.
2.
Marital Status, by Sex: Hispanic Adults with Work Disabil-
14
ity Aged 16-64 and not in Institutions.
3.
Proportions Employed, by Age Range: Hispanic and
16
White Disabled Males Aged 16-64 and not in Institutions.
4.
Proportions Employed, by Age Range: Hispanic and
17
White Disabled Females Aged 16-64 and not in
Institutions.
5.
Income in 1980: Hispanic Disabled Adults Aged 16-64
18
and not in Institutions.
6.
Ratio of Income in 1980 to Poverty Level, by Disability
20
Status: Hispanic Adults Aged 16-64 and not in
Institutions.
vii
Thumbnail Sketches
The "typical" working-age Hispanic adult:
is 30 years old
has a eleventh-grade education
is married
is in the labor force
works full- or part-time
had about $8,000 in income from all sources in 1980
The "typical" working-age disabled Hispanic adult:
is 40 years of age
has a ninth-grade level of education
is married
is not in the labor force
does not work full- or part-time
had about $3,700 in income from all sources in 1980
Source: Current Population Survey, March, 1981.
viii
Introduction
The Hispanic population is one of the fastest growing segments of the
American working-age populace. It is a relatively young population, in
part because many of its members are immigrants and in part
because of a high birth rate. Today, it represents almost one out of
every twenty persons in the 16-64 year-old American public.
This document presents data which help describe those Hispanics of
working age who report one or more work disabilities. The data in this
publication are subject to the same limitations that affect figures in
other reports in the series, e.g., Black Adults with Disabilities.
Specifically, the information contained here relates only to persons of
working age; that is, this report says nothing about persons under the
age of 16 or over the age of 64. Secondly, the figures cover only per-
sons who are not institutionalized. And data on Hispanic adults with
disabilities include only those Hispanics reporting one or more work
disabilities.
In addition, with respect to employment figures, some of the data in
this publication should be treated with considerable care. Given that
only about 5% of the working-age population of the country is
Hispanic, and that only one in every twelve of these persons reports a
disability, numbers of Hispanics with disabilities who work in different
occupations are small. Accordingly, proportions rather than absolute
numbers generally are used in this report.
The statistics offered here derive from a new and exciting series of in-
vestigations. Since 1981, the Census Bureau has included disability-
related questions in its annual March Current Population Survey (CPS)
studies. Conducted monthly, primarily to assemble figures upon which
to base reports on the unemployment rate in the nation's workforce,
the CPS is highly reliable and produces figures very comparable to
those accumulated by the U.S. Census. The chief advantage in using
CPS rather than Census data is that the CPS data are much more
rapidly available. Figures from the 1981 and 1982 March CPS studies
are included in this publication.
1
This report is one in a. series of four. Disabled Adults in America, Dis-
abled Women in America, and Black Adults with Disabilities are the
others.
The term "Hispanic" refers to persons who self-identified as having
origins or ancestry that derived from Mexico; Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cen-
tral or South America, or. some other Spanish nation. It is important for
the reader to bear in mind that persons of Hispanic origin may be of
any race.
"Disability" refers to a health condition which prevented a person
from working or limited the amount or kind of work a person could
do. For a more complete treatment of the methodology employed by
the Current Population Survey, see Disabled Adults in America.
2
Executive Summary
One working-age Hispanic adult in every twelve is disabled. Of
8,325,000 Hispanics between the ages of 16 and 64 who are not in
institutions, 702,000, or 8.4%, are disabled.
Most disabled Hispanics of working age are women. This is true, in
large part, because women outnumber men in the general working-
age Hispanic population by 52% to 48%. A total of 372,000 disabled
Hispanics, or 53%, are female, while 330,000, or 47%, are male.
The average disabled Hispanic of working age is 40 years of age, has
a ninth-grade level of education, does not work, nor is actively seeking
employment. Income from all sources was under $4,000 in 1980.
More than eight in ten (82.6%) reside in cities; of these, almost two in
three live in central city areas. About four in ten (38.8%) live in the
Western part of the country, with another three in ten (30.2%) in the
South. Half (50.4%) are married, while 23.8% never married.
Better than one in every three (36.5%) lives with an income below the
poverty line. This is largely due to the fact that only 41.7% of the men
and 16.9% of the women are in the labor force (either working or ac-
tively looking for work); 31.6% of the men and 13.3% of the women
work.
The unemployment rate in March 1982 among disabled Hispanic
women was 21.5%, while among men it was 24.2%. These levels are
slightly lower than those of disabled blacks but markedly higher than
those among disabled whites.
3
Size of the Population
About one Hispanic adult in every twelve (8.4%) reports a work
One Hispanic
disability Among Hispanic males, the rate is 8.2%; among females
adult in every
8.6% The proportions are similar to those found among white adults
twelve (8.4%)
and markedly lower than those which obtain with black adults
reports a work
disability.
The Hispanic disabled population aged 16-64 and not in institutions
numbered 702,000 in March 1981, according to the Current Popula-
tion Survey. Fully 53% of these persons were women. In fact, as
Table 1 illustrates, the distribution by sex of disability in the Hispanic
population is the mirror-image of that in the white population. The
divergence is largely accounted for by the fact that in the general
population of Hispanic adults, women comprise 52% of the total, while
men comprise 48%.
The distribution by sex in the Hispanic population is similar to that in
the black adult population. Disability is much more common among
blacks, however, at 14.1%, than it is among Hispanics or among
whites
4
Table 1
Hispanic and White Disabled Adults Aged 16-64
and Not in Institutions
47.0
Males
53.0
Females
666666
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
%
Hispanic
White
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
5
Characteristics of the
Population
Almost half
Age
Hispanic adults of working age are much older than are other
(49.4%) of all
Hispanics. Almost half (49.4%) of all disabled Hispanics of working
disabled
age are between 45 and 64 years of age, as compared with fewer
Hispanics of
than one in five nondisabled Hispanics. A similarly dramatic difference
working age are
appears at the other end of the age range: fully twice the proportion
between 45 and
of nondisabled Hispanics is between 16 and 34 years of age than is
64 years of age.
the case with Hispanics who report a work disability.
As compared to disabled whites of working age; Hispanics with a
work disability are markedly younger, reflecting the relative youth of
the Hispanic population as a whole
The average disabled Hispanic of working age is 40 years old,
younger than the average 51 years of age among the disabled white
population, but older than the average working age of 30 years
among the nondisabled Hispanic population Blacks of working age
who report a disability average 42 years of age:
In Table 2 appears a comparison between Hispanic and white per-
sons by age range and disability status.
Education
Disabled Hispanics have lower levels of education attainment than are
found among disabled blacks, disabled women of all races, and
disabled whites. As compared to other Hispanics of working age, they
have acquired less education.
The average disabled Hispanic of working age has a ninth-grade level
of education. Fully four in every ten completed fewer than eight years
of formal schooling. Almost one in three (32.8%) has more than eight
but fewer than twelve years of education. Not quite one in every ten.
(9.7%) has more than a high-school level of education. Only one in
every thirty-three (3.0%) is a college graduate.
6
Table 2
Age Range, by Disability Status: Hispanic and
White Adults Aged 16-64 and Not in Institutions
%
50-
Ages
55-64
40-
16-24
40.9
25-34
30
32.7
26.4
26.9
30.0)
45-54
35-44
29,3
20-
15.1
14.5
16.2
19.2
18.4
18.4
20.9
20.1
10
14.0
15.2
9.7
11.9
13.1
7.0
0
Disabled
Nondisabled
White
Hispanic
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
7
Disabled whites are almost three times as likely to complete college
nearly twice as likely to attend at least some college, and twice as
likely to graduate from high school as are disabled Hispanics. Black
working-age adults with disabilities are slightly more likely to have
some college education, and somewhat less likely to have terminated
their schooling before reaching high school.
Why are education attainment levels SO low among disabled
Hispanics? Probably, the main reason is that little schooling leads to
physical and low-paying employment, which in turn makes individuals
subject to disabling accidents and illnesses.
For other Hispanics, disability. in the early years of life restricted
education attainment.
The fact that fully 73.3%, or almost three out of every four, disabled
Hispanics failed to complete high school helps explain the low levels
of income, the low levels of participation in the nation's labor force,
and the high proportions among those working of employment in OC-
cupations requiring heavy physical labor.
Table 3 offers data on education attainment among disabled:
Hispanics, nondisabled Hispanics, and disabled whites of working
age.
Residence
Eight in ten disabled Hispanics reside in cities. Slightly more than half
live in central city locations. Of the 82.6% residing in urban settings,
63.9% live in a central city.
As compared to disabled blacks, Hispanic adults with work disabilities
are less likely to be urban or central city residents. As compared to
disabled whites, however, these Hispanic adults are only half as likely
to live outside a city. The residential patterns parallel those of non-
disabled Hispanic adults quite closely.
8
Table 3
Years of School Completed: Disabled Hispanics,
Nondisabled Hispanics, and Disabled Whites
Aged 16-64 and Not in Institutions
%
50
40.5
40
34.8
32.8
31.2
29.5
30
28.5
22.0
20
17.0
14.7
12.0 12.5
8.5
10
6.7
6.3
3.0
0
Less Than 8
8-11
12
13-15
16 and over
Years of School Completed
Disabled Hispanics
Nondisabled Hispanics
Disabled Whites
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
9
The general Hispanic population tends to reside in the Western part of
the country more than do other races: Among disabled Hispanics of
working age, 38.8% live in the West, 30.2% in the South, 24.4% in
the Northeast, and only 6.6% in the North Central region. Again,
these patterns parallel those of nondisabled Hispanics.
Table 4 presents data on urban and nonurban residential patterns
among disabled Hispanics, nondisabled Hispanics, and disabled
whites of working age.
In Figure 1 appear proportions of these three groups by geographic
region
Marital Status
About half (50.4%) of all adult disabled Hispanics are married. Not
quite one in every four (23.8%) never married, while almosti one in ten
(9.8%) is divorced. As compared to other Hispanics of working age,
those with disabilities are somewhat less likely to be married or never
married, but twice as likely to be separated and markedly more likely
to be divorced. Reflecting their relative greater age, disabled members
are more than four times as likely as are other members of the
Hispanic adult population to be widowed.
As compared to disabled blacks, Hispanic adults with work disabilities
are more likely to be married and less likely to be divorced. Com-
pared to disabled whites, Hispanic disabled adults are less likely to be
married but more likely never to have married.
Table 5 presents data on disabled and nondisabled Hispanics by
marital status.
Within the disabled Hispanic population, important differences obtain
in marital status according to sex. As Figure 2 illustrates, males are
much more likely to be married but much less likely to be divorced.
10
Table 4
Residential Patterns: Disabled Hispanics,
Nondisabled Hispanics, and Disabled Whites
Aged 16-64 and Not in Institutions
%
100
84.2
82.6
80
63.0
60
Central
City
40
37.0
20
Not
17.4
1.5.8
central
city
0
In an SMSA*
Not in an SMSA
Disabled Hispanics
Nondisabled Hispanics
Disabled Whites
*SMSA: Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
11
Figure 1
Geographical Distribution: Disabled Hispanics,
Nondisabled Hispanics, and Disabled Whites
Aged 16-64 and Not in Institutions
West
41.0
38.8
Northeast
North Central
24.4
24.2
21.4
South
16.2
%
34.6
34.0
20.4
30.22
8.2
6.6
Disabled Hispanics
Nondisabled Hispanics
Disabled Whites
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
12
Table 5
Marital Status, by Disability Status: Hispanic
Adults Aged 16-64 and Not in Institutions
%
60
58.3
Disabled
50.4
50
Nondisabled
40
30
29.9
23.8
20
9.8
10
9.0
7.0
5.8
4.4
1.6
0
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
Never Married
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
13
Figure 2
Marital Status, by Sex: Hispanic Adults With
Work Disability Aged 16-64 and Not in
Institutions
%
60.3
60
Males
50
Females
41.5
40
30
28.8
20
19.3
14.6
11.9
12.7
10
4.5
4.8
1.6
0
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
Never Married
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
14
Labor Force Participation
Most disabled Hispanics of working age are neither working nor look-
ing for work. They are not in the labor force. Just 13.3% of the
women and 31.6% of the men work.
In March, 1982, unëmployment among the women stood at 21.5%;
among the men that month the rate was 24.2%. Overall, 23.3% of
working-age disabled Hispanics were unemployed.
As compared to disabled blacks, Hispanics with work disabilities are
more likely to be in the labor force and more likely to be working. As
compared to disabled whites and to nondisabled Hispanics, however,
Hispanics with disabilities are less likely to perform or seek work.
The Census Bureau's sample in the March CPS studies is too small to
allow. confidence in the numbers derived for employment patterns
among disabled Hispanics, particularly when further divisions are
made for sex and for occupational category. Accordingly, Figure 3,
which offers data on proportions of white and disabled males who are
employed by age range, and Figure 4, which presents similar data for
females, are more helpful for perceiving broad tendencies than for
analyzing numbers.
Income and Economic Status
Three in ten disabled, Hispanics of working age report incomes from
all sources of under $2,000 a year. Another one in four (26.6%) has
an income between that level and $3,999 annually. By contrast, only
17.6% report incomes over $8,000 per year.
Figure 5 illustrates these data.
As compared to disabled blacks, Hispanics with work disabilities
report somewhat higher incomes, apparently because a larger propor-
tion of Hispanics than blacks work. As compared to nondisabled
Hispanics and to disabled whites, however, the incomes of disabled
Hispanics are low.
15
Figure 3
Proportions Employed, by Age Range: Hispanic
and White Disabled Males Aged 16-64 and Not in
Institutions
%
50
49.6
49.9
41.0
41.1
40
37.7
32.8
29.7
30
27.5
27.2
23.9
20
10
0
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Age Range
Hispanics
Whites
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1982.
16
Figure 4
Proportions Employed, by Age Range: Hispanic
and White Disabled Females Aged 16-64 and Not
in Institutions
35.1
34.8
ILL
%
30
27.9
26.6
25
20
19.7
18.7
18.0
15
13.3
10.5
10
5
3.6
0
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Age Range
Hispanics
Whites
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1982.
17
Figure 5
Income in 1980: Hispanic Disabled Adults Aged
16-64 and Not in Institutions
%
30
$
$
26.6
20
18.1
16.2
14.2
13.2
10
7.3
4.4
0
No
$1-
$2,000-
$4,000-
$6,000-
$8,000-
$10,000
Income
$1,999
$3,999
$5,999
$7,999
$9,999
and over
or loss
Income Range
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
18
As Figure 6 shows, more than one out of every three (36.5%) dis-
abled Hispanics lives on an income below the official poverty line.
By comparison, one disabled adult in four, one disabled woman in
three, and one disabled black in two was below the poverty level in
1980.
Occupational Category
Disabled working-age Hispanic adults tend to work in the same OC-
cupational categories as do other Hispanics. The proportions in dif-
ferent job groupings are also quite similar to that among disabled.
blacks: both groups tend to be well represented in craft, operative,
laborer, and service occupations but relatively absent from profes-
sional, technical, managerial and administrative jobs.
These occupational category patterns reflect the low levels of
education.
Table 6 offers data on disabled and nondisabled Hispanics of working
age according to occupational category reported. The information is
presented for males separately from females to portray differences by
sex in job patterns. These data should be interpreted with care, They
include only employed Hispanic adults and divide that population by
disability status, by sex and by occupational category. The number of
individuals in each cell is too small for numerical analysis to be con-
ducted with confidence, despite the fact that the data represent
averages compiled from the 1981 and 1982 CPS March studies.
19
Figure 6
Ratio of Income in 1980 to Poverty Level, by
Disability Status: Hispanic Adults Aged 16-64
and Not in Institutions
%
50
$
40
36.5
30
27.6
20
22.9
23.9
19.4
15.0
13.2
14.1
14.42
10
13.0
0
Less
1.0 to
1.50 to
2:0 to
3.0
than 1.0
1:49
1.99
2.99
and over
Ratio of Income to Poverty Level
Disabled
Nondisabled
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981.
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
%
Table 6
6.6
Disabled
Professional,
7.9
Nondisabled
Source: Current Population Survey, March 1981 and March 1982.
technical
9.3
9.2
6.1
Managers,
7.4
administrators
5.6
4.5
Not in Institutions
4.6
Sales workers
3.3
4.7
5.3
7.1
Clerical and
6.4
kindred workers
20.6
32.7
17.8
Craft and
19.6
kindred workers
0'
2.6
22.3
Operatives
26.1
29.0
21.5
14.2
Laborers,
10.7
except farm
0.9
1.7
Sex: Employed Hispanic Adults Aged 16-64 and
Occupational Category, by Disability Status, by
17.3
Service
13.5
workers
29.0
20.9
Females
Males
Farm
4.1
4.9
workers
1.9
1.6
21
Technical Notes
1. Readers having a special interest in the disabled Hispanic popula-
tion's employment patterns are urged to contact the Bureau of the
Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, for information about the
availability of data which might supplement those offered here.
Write: Bureau of the Census, USDOC, Washington, D.C. 20233.
2. Additional information, particularly about younger and older
disabled Hispanics, may be obtained by contacting other sources
of data, including:
(1) National Center for Health Statistics, Washington, D.C. 20201.
Ask about the most recent Health Interview Survey (HIS)
report;
(2) Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S.
Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20201. Ask
about program statistics on special education and
rehabilitation;
(3) Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Ask about the
most recent data on disability status among Hispanic
individuals.
3. For a comprehensive statistical report on the 1982 Current Popu-
lation Survey, see: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports, Series P-23, No. 127, Labor Force Status and Other
Characteristics of Persons With a Work Disability: 1982, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1983 ($4.50).
22
References
Bowe; F. Demography and Disability. Hot Springs, Arkansas: Arkan-
sas Rehabilitation Research & Training Center, 1983.
Bureau of the Census. Labor Force Status and Other Characteristics
of Persons With a Work Disability: 1982. Washington, D.C.: Govern-
ment Printing Office, 1983.
Hacker, A. (Ed.) U/S: A Statistical Portrait of the American People.
New York: Viking, 1983.
*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1985 0-461-566/36476
23
DIGNITY, EQUALITY, INDEPENDENCE FOR DISABLED ADULTS
PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE
EMPLOYMENT THE OF THE NO
The President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped
Washington, D.C. 20036