3rd December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities
One quarter (24 %) of people aged 15-64 in Belgium who are severely hampered by a disability or long-standing health problems have a job: 41 % of them work part-time, compared to one quarter of the total working population. This is what emerged from the figures of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office (Labour Force Survey 2018).
When people are severely hampered by a disability, a long-standing illness or condition, this also has a clear impact on their work situation: only 24 % of them have a job, while for the total population aged 15 to 64 the figure is 65 %.
Their unemployment rate (9 %) is also higher than for the total population (6 %), but the large majority (74 %) of people severely hampered are inactive. This means that they do not have a job, are not looking for a job and/or are not available for work. Of those who work, 41 % work part-time, compared to one quarter of the total Belgian population. 62 % of severely hampered women work part-time, compared to 41 % of women in the total Belgian population aged 15 to 64.
In 2011, 63 % of employed persons severely hampered worked in the private sector, while this figure amounted to 71 % in 2018: this is a sharp increase of 8 percentage points. The share of the private sector in the total population grew less rapidly (+3 percentage points).