East Midlands: Jobs boost for region’s disabled workers

New figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions today reveal an increase from 224,000 to 250,300 for disabled people in jobs in the region - a rise of 3.2 per cent. The overall employment rate in the East Midlands is up by 149,000 since 2010.

A milestone has also been reached in the number of businesses signed up to the Government’s Disability Confident campaign. More than 50 businesses have now committed to changing their employment practices for disabled people, including businesses as diverse as Honda, Fitness First and Barclays.

Minister of State for Disabled People, Mark Harper, said:“There are now thousands more disabled people in work in the East Midlands this year compared to last and the national disability employment rate has risen by 141,000 over the past twelve months.

“That’s thousands of individual stories of hard work and determination – of disabled people facing a better future in the world of work. And as well as their personal achievements, credit is due to the increasing number of companies who are championing the employment value of disabled people.

“More and more companies across the country are waking up to the considerable talents of disabled people in the workplace. Indeed, evidence shows that disabled people tend to stay in a job for longer, have a strong commitment to their employer and experience lower rates of absenteeism.”