1. The social and employment situation of people with disabilities MEP lunch meeting European Parliament, 6 March 2019
46 EU agencies across EU that play an important role in the European Union (EU). They help make Europe more competitive and a better place to live and work, thus serving the interests of EU residents as a whole.
These agencies have been set up by the EU to perform technical and scientific tasks that help the EU institutions implement policies and take decisions. They are spread across the EU.
They work on issues and problems affecting the everyday lives of the 500m people living in the EU. They have a major impact, providing EU institutions and countries with specialised knowledge in areas as diverse as the food we eat to living and working conditions to security.
To provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.
To provide scientifically sound, unbiased, timely and policy-relevant knowledge that contributes to better informed policies for upward convergence of living and working conditions in Europe.
Daphne Ahrendt, Research Manager, Social Policies Unit

2. In 2018, on International Day of People with Disabilities, Eurofound published a Policy Brief that looks at…
…the social and employment situation of people with disabilities aged in the EU
…changes between 2011 and 2016 in a number of priority areas of the European Disability Strategy
…the subjective well-being of people with disabilities and examines the factors that influence it

3. Where does the data come from?
Source
European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS)
Survey rounds
2003, 2007, 2011 , 2016
Target population
Resident population 18+ years
living in private households.
28 EU Member States
5 candidate countries (AL, ME, MK, RS, TR)
Sample size EU28
30,809
Definition of disability
Global Activity Limitation Instrument (GALI)
Sample composition 4th EQLS
3,741 PWD aged (12% of sample)
18,448 PWoD aged (65% of sample)
8,620 people aged 65+ (24% of sample)
Data-analysis
EU28 results for population aged disaggregated by age, gender, education and income
EQLS measures quality of life in the EU and contributes to a better understanding of the situation of different subgroups, including people with disabilities. The aim of the EQLS is not to estimate the prevalence of disability (e.g. to produce statistics about the number of people with disabilities)
Global Activity Limitation Instrument (GALI): “For at least the past 6 months, to what extent have you been limited because of a health problem in activities people usually do? Would you say you have been …”severely limited / limited but not severely or / not limited at all?”; 
“Disabled persons are persons whose longstanding health condition, illness, disease or longstanding difficulty with basic activities (such as seeing, hearing, concentrating, moving round) prevents them to participate in at least one life domain” which is used in the European Health and Social Integration Survey (EHSIS);
30809 people aged 18+ residing in the EU28 were interviewed for the 2016 EQLS
9414 report chronic illnesses or health problems (Q49)
7056 of these respondents say that this to some extent or severely limits them in their daily activities (Q50) – these are the respondents defined as ‘people with a disability’
3741of the respondents with a disability are of working age (18-64)

4. Share of respondents with chronic illness or disability who report limitations (in %, EQLS 2016)
30809 people aged 18+ residing in the EU28 were interviewed for the 2016 EQLS
9414 report chronic illnesses or health problems (Q49)
7056 of these respondents say that this to some extent or severely limits them in their daily activities (Q50) – these are the respondents defined as ‘people with a disability’
3741of the respondents with a disability are of working age (18-64)

5. Some key findings
The employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be lower than that of people without disabilities, but the employment gap between the two groups narrowed between 2011 and 2016.

6. Disability employment gap by gender, age and education, EU, 2011 and 2016

7. Some key findings
The employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be lower than that of people without disabilities, but the employment gap between the two groups narrowed between 2011 and 2016.
Although employment rates have improved both for men and women with disabilities, the figure is higher for men (55%) than it is for women (47%).

8. Employment status of people with disabilities (%), by gender, EU, 2011 and 2016

9. Some key findings
The employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be lower than that of people without disabilities, but the employment gap between the two groups narrowed between 2011 and 2016.
Although employment rates have improved both for men and women with disabilities, the figure is higher for men (55%) than it is for women (47%).
In 2016, people with disabilities lagged further behind their non-disabled counterparts in completion rates for tertiary education than was the case in 2011.
This finding is particularly worrying considering that the employment gap for disabled people with a tertiary degree is significantly smaller than it is for those with lower educational attainment.

10. Educational attainment levels for people with and without a disability, EU, 2016

11. Educational attainment gap, EU, 2011 and 2016

12. Some key findings
The employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be lower than that of people without disabilities, but the employment gap between the two groups narrowed between 2011 and 2016.
Although employment rates have improved both for men and women with disabilities, the figure is higher for men (55%) than it is for women (47%).
In 2016, people with disabilities lagged further behind their non-disabled counterparts in completion rates for tertiary education than was the case in 2011.
More people with disabilities are participating in social and sports activities than previously. There no longer is a gap in social participation rates between people with and without disabilities.

13. Participation in physical and social activities among people with disabilities, EU, 2016
While the 2011 EQLS showed a gap in social participation rates between people with and without disabilities, this gap no longer existed in Participation in physical activities is still less common for people with disabilities than it is for their non-disabled counterparts (45% versus 55%, respectively), although the difference between the two groups has fallen from 13 percentage points in 2011 to 10 percentage points in 2016.

14. Some key findings
The employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be lower than that of people without disabilities, but the employment gap between the two groups narrowed between 2011 and 2016.
Although employment rates have improved both for men and women with disabilities, the figure is higher for men (55%) than it is for women (47%).
In 2016, people with disabilities lagged further behind their non-disabled counterparts in completion rates for tertiary education than was the case in 2011.
More people with disabilities are participating in social and sports activities than previously. There no longer is a gap in social participation rates between people with and without disabilities.
Overall, people with disabilities report significantly lower subjective well-being levels than their non-disabled counterparts.

15. Life satisfaction scores among people with and without disabilities, by age group and income quartiles, EU, 2016

16. #ThisTimeImVoting – European Elections
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION FOR PEOPLE AGED IN 2016 (in %)
FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
PEOPLE WITHOUT DISABILITIES
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
TOTAL
MEN
WOMEN
18-24
25-39
40-49
50-64
LOWER EDUCATION
SECONDARY EDUCATION
TERTIARY EDUCATION
UNABLE TO WORK
SEVERELY LIMITED
Signed a petition, including an or on-line petition 22 26 29 31 32 27 24 14 25 48 19
Commented on a political or social issue online 15 16 13 30 12 8
Attended a meeting of a trade union, a political party or political action group 7 9 5 3 4 6 2
Contacted a politician or public official 11 10 21
Attended a protest or demonstration

17. #ThisTimeImVoting – European Elections
FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
PERCENTAGE POINT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES AGED 18-64
MEN
WOMEN
18-24
25-39
40-49
50-64
LOWER EDUCATION
SECONDARY EDUCATION
TERTIARY EDUCATION
Signed a petition, including an or on-line petition 1 5 6 9 4 12
Commented on a political or social issue online -7 13 2
Attended a meeting of a trade union, a political party or political action group -1 -2 -3 3
Contacted a politician or public official 8
Attended a protest or demonstration -6

18. Thank you EQLS 2016 Policy Brief: http://eurofound.link/ef18023
EQLS 2016 Overview report:
Main results/breakdowns:
EQLS source questionnaire:
More about the EQLS:
Thank you