KZMU News

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities was eight percent in 2018: more than twice the rate for the general population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And getting a job is only the first step: staying employed is also a challenge. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak to an employer, an educator, and a person with autism to find out more about how some workers with disabilities found the supports they need to stay employed.

[Photo: Taylor Walters is a job coach who helps people on the autism spectrum get into the workforce. Courtesy of Taylor Walters]

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities was eight percent in 2018: more than twice the rate for the general population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And getting a job is only the first step: staying employed is also a challenge. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak to an employer, an educator, and a person with autism to find out more about how some workers with disabilities found the supports they need to stay employed.

[Photo: Taylor Walters is a job coach who helps people on the autism spectrum get into the workforce. Courtesy of Taylor Walters]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just under 19 percent of people with disabilities are employed, compared with 66 percent of people without disabilities. Policymakers and educators want to change that. Over the past five years, many Utah universities launched programs aimed at preparing young people with disabilities to enter the workforce. While many people without disabilities look to work as a way to gain health insurance benefits, some workers with disabilities worry they may lose health insurance coverage if they start work, or go back to it. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio have the story.

[Photo: Bryson Carpenter. Credit Joylnne Lyon/Center For Persons with Disabilities]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just under 19 percent of people with disabilities are employed, compared with 66 percent of people without disabilities. Policymakers and educators want to change that. Over the past five years, many Utah universities launched programs aimed at preparing young people with disabilities to enter the workforce. While many people without disabilities look to work as a way to gain health insurance benefits, some workers with disabilities worry they may lose health insurance coverage if they start work, or go back to it. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio have the story.

[Photo: Bryson Carpenter. Credit Joylnne Lyon/Center For Persons with Disabilities]

We’ve heard a lot about the booming economy, and it’s true the employment rate has risen, for both people with and without disabilities. Still, the employment gap—that’s the difference in employment rates between typical employees and those with disabilities—is wider than it was in 2008, when the Great Recession began, according to a study from the University of New Hampshire. Where does Utah fit in all of this? We rank third in the nation for employment rates among people with disabilities, according to the same study. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak to an employer and a service provider. They have different jobs, but they both want employees with disabilities to thrive—and the companies that hire them to succeed, too.

[Photo: The Crepery in Logan hires people with disabilities. Credit Jolynne Lyon/Center for Persons with Disabilities]

We’ve heard a lot about the booming economy, and it’s true the employment rate has risen, for both people with and without disabilities. Still, the employment gap—that’s the difference in employment rates between typical employees and those with disabilities—is wider than it was in 2008, when the Great Recession began, according to a study from the University of New Hampshire. Where does Utah fit in all of this? We rank third in the nation for employment rates among people with disabilities, according to the same study. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak to an employer and a service provider. They have different jobs, but they both want employees with disabilities to thrive—and the companies that hire them to succeed, too.

[Photo: The Crepery in Logan hires people with disabilities. Credit Jolynne Lyon/Center for Persons with Disabilities]

For some, graduating and leaving high school or college school means entering the adult world. But for people with disabilities, an independent life is less certain. Eight in 10 people with disabilities are not in the labor force, compared with three in 10 among people without a disability. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak with Utahns who initially struggled to make that transition but are now seeing success.

[Photo: Jenna Mosher graduated from Aggies Elevated and is now working on her bachelor's degree. Courtesy of Aggies Elevated]

For some, graduating and leaving high school or college school means entering the adult world. But for people with disabilities, an independent life is less certain. Eight in 10 people with disabilities are not in the labor force, compared with three in 10 among people without a disability. As part of their series Diagnosed, our partners at Utah Public Radio speak with Utahns who initially struggled to make that transition but are now seeing success.

[Photo: Jenna Mosher graduated from Aggies Elevated and is now working on her bachelor's degree. Courtesy of Aggies Elevated]

*Saturday Extra* There was a recent victory in the pro-wilderness world – a plan by the Bureau of Land Management to clearcut more than 30,000 acres of pinyon-juniper forest and sagebrush stands within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was overturned by a federal appeals board. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, along with the Western Watersheds Project, the Wilderness Society, and the Grand Canyon Trust brought the appeal. On the extended newscast, SUWA wildlands attorney Kya Marienfeld speaks about this victory, the history of ripping out pinyon-juniper forest, and what placing more attention on these issues could mean for the future.

*Saturday Extra* There was a recent victory in the pro-wilderness world – a plan by the Bureau of Land Management to clearcut more than 30,000 acres of pinyon-juniper forest and sagebrush stands within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was overturned by a federal appeals board. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, along with the Western Watersheds Project, the Wilderness Society, and the Grand Canyon Trust brought the appeal. On the extended newscast, SUWA wildlands attorney Kya Marienfeld speaks about this victory, the history of ripping out pinyon-juniper forest, and what placing more attention on these issues could mean for the future.