Am I reading this right: almost 1 in 5 American adults is on disability?
Yes. Disability numbers are shockingly high. It's an issue that is really not talked about enough.
Collecting disability doesn’t necessarily mean you’re incapacitated or can’t work at all. Depression is a common disability, for example. It’s very common for veterans who served more than 4 years to get some amount of disability if they are persistent, and often not for crippling injuries (sleep apnea is a popular one)
Re:America's True Unemployment Rate
by bostonvaulter2 on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @08:50PM
(#24843862)
Yes, it is truly scary. A large portion of them are in more rural areas that have been decimated. Also, IIRC states pay money to trainers/consultants that help people get on the national disability programs.
Re:America's True Unemployment Rate
by amznthrwaway on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @09:10PM
(#24843954)
That number doesn't match what the SSA publishes in their annual reports.[1]. They put the figure on disability at 8.9 million disabled workers, with 11.2 million total beneficiaries once you include the disabled workers' children.)
That said, the real figures are still startling. They represents 4.4% of the US worker population but some states rely incredibly heavily on the program.
Alabama - 8.0% of the population
Arkansas - 7.9% of the population
Kentucky - 7.6% of the population
Maine - 7.4% of the population
Mississippi - 7.5% of the population
West Virginia - 8.6% of the population
No idea why this was downvoted into oblivion, so I vouched for it. It seems to state factual information and cites direct sources. The information presented is located on page 29. Maybe instead of just drive-by downvoting, you can state some reasoning for doing so.
Re:America's True Unemployment Rate
by Noumenon72 on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @09:58PM
(#24844159)
For a second I thought I'd lost my ability to vouch, then I reloaded and found you had already done so. Thanks for recognizing good posts!
54.0 million over 65
48.9 million on disability
328.2 million total population
185.8 million people employed at 56.6% employment
128.1 million people not employed (including children)
54 million people not employed, but marginally employable (max income is $1,260 per month if on disability and $18,240/yr when retired)
In any case, under-employment is still a bigger issue than unemployment.