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17 Apr 2018
Report

A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities

Michelle Yin, Dahlia Shaewitz, Cynthia Overton, and Deeza-Mae Smith

Image of young waiter with an intellectual disabilityPeople with disabilities provide a twofold opportunity for business and industry. First, businesses benefit from hiring people with disabilities by increasing the diversity of their labor force, inspiring innovation, and improving productivity; they benefit from an increase in favorable public perception. Second, people with disabilities also represent a vast consumer market for high-quality services and products.

This report examines the significant and growing economic power of the disability market through the lens of disposable and discretionary income, and provides information to help motivate businesses to enter this market. (Disposable income is money available after taxes to spend on essential living expenses; discretionary income is money available for nonessential items after taxes and basic living expenses have been met.) The report also discusses implications for businesses, next steps to aid in accessing this market, and specific examples of companies in the United States that have experienced strategic benefits from employing, marketing to, and developing specific products for people with disabilities. 

Key Findings

  • The total after-tax disposable income for working-age people with disabilities is about $490 billion, which is similar to that of other significant market segments, such as African Americans ($501 billion) and Hispanics ($582 billion).
  • Discretionary income for working-age people with disabilities is about $21 billion, which is greater than that of the African-American and Hispanic market segments combined.
  • Disposable and discretionary income varies by disability type and by state—information that can help business leaders as they make plans to access the disability market.

People with disabilities are not a solitary market; they are surrounded by family members and friends who also recognize the value in products and services that accommodate all people in society.

PDF icon A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities (PDF)

Related Work

17 Apr 2018
News Release

Meeting the Needs of Adults with Disabilities in the Marketplace

The needs of adults with disabilities are frequently overlooked in the marketplace and when businesses are designing and promoting products and services. But a new report from the AIR finds that inclusive hiring practices and involving people with disabilities in product development and advertisement can help businesses access a market worth billions of dollars.
17 Apr 2018
Infographic

who-are-people-with-disabilities-infographic-website-496x326.png

Infographic: Who Are People with Disabilities in the United States?

The Spending Power of Working-age Adults with Disabilities

This infographic illuminates the disposable and discretionary income of people with disabilities compared with other similarly sized market segments, such as African Americans and Hispanics.
Topic: 
Workforce, Disability and Rehabilitation, Human Capital
6 Oct 2015
Report

lss-dahlia-shaewitz-01.png

Dahlia Shaewitz

One Size Does Not Fit All: A New Look at the Labor Force Participation of People with Disabilities

Millions of working-age adults with disabilities are willing to work but do not have jobs and do not count as unemployed. Labor participation choices and employment experiences of people with disabilities vary substantially by disability type, suggesting a need to account for this diversity in efforts to improve the labor market outcomes for this population.
Topic: 
Workforce, Disability and Rehabilitation

Further Reading

  • The Spending Power of Working-age Adults with Disabilities
  • Meeting the Needs of Adults with Disabilities in the Marketplace
  • Improving Lives for People with Disabilities in the Workplace and the Marketplace
  • Disability Employment and Marketplace in Boston and Other Top Metropolitan Areas
  • Disability Employment Awareness
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Michelle Yin

Michelle Yin

Principal Economist

Topic

Workforce
Disability and Rehabilitation
Human Capital

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