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BC is facing a labour shortage with close to 1 million expected job openings by the year 2025 1. There are 614,630 British Columbians ages 15-64 that have a disability 2.

People with disabilities represent an important talent pool that is largely untapped.

There are many benefits to hiring people with disabilities including:

  1. Improved Productivity 3 – Research shows that diverse and inclusive workplaces are:
    • 2x more likely to meet or exceed financial targets.
    • 6x more likely to be innovative.
    • 6x more likely to effectively anticipate change.
  2. People with Disabilities Make Great Employees 4 – Among employees with disabilities:
    • Staff retention was 72% higher.
    • 86% had average or better attendance.
    • 90% performed equal or better than their coworkers without disabilities.
  3. Expanded Consumer Reach
    • The spending power of people with disabilities is over $55 billion dollars 5.
    • 90% of consumers prefer to engage with companies that hire people with disabilities 6.

For companies interested in gaining a competitive advantage, the business case for hiring people with disabilities is important to know. Hiring inclusively is just good for business.

Sources:

  1. BC Government. (2016) B.C. Labour Market Outlook shows steady economic growth in 2025
  2. *Statistics Canada. (2018) Canadian Survey on Disability 2017
  3. PR Newswire. (2017) New Deloitte Research Identifies Keys to Creating Fair and Inclusive Organizations
  4. Deloitte. (2017) The road to inclusion: Integrating people with disabilities into the workplace.
  5. Donovan, R. (2016) Return on Disability: Translate Different Into Value, 2016 Annual Report: The Global Economics of Disability
  6. BC Government. (2016) September is Disability Employment Month in B.C.

*Update:

On November 28 2018, Statistics Canada released the results from the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD). These updated statistics (when comparing to the findings in 2012) now include mental health-related cognitive disabilities and seniors. Looking at these numbers further:

  • 926,100 British Columbians 15+ have a disability, or 24.7% of the population.
  • 614,630 working-age British Columbians (15-64) have a disability, or 20.5% of the population. (This was the seventh highest rate of disability in Canada, but was still above the national average of 18.8%.)

Although the 2017 CSD shows better employment outcomes than the 2012 CSD, Persons with disabilities still face challenges when it comes to employment:

  • The employment rate for persons with disabilities (25 to 64) in British Columbia was 60.4%, compared to 80.3% for those without a disability.
  • Four other provinces have higher employment rates than B.C., led by Alberta (66.3%) and Saskatchewan (65.9%).