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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

disabled, unemployed, employment variations, Europe

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

According to the 1996 European Community Household Panel (ECHP) survey, disabled people account for an estimated 14.5 percent of the total working-age population of the European Union, of which 42.6 percent are employed (Van Lin et al. 2001). This means that of a population of 65 million people, roughly 30 million are employed. The European Union’s (EU) core disability strategy has a four-fold emphasis aimed at increasing the civil rights of people with disabilities. These emphasis include improving co-operation between the Member States, encouraging exchange and development of information and good practice in the EU, raising awareness of disability issues, and ensuring that disability issues are taken into account in all EU legislation and policies (EU Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union). Through documents and declarations such as, the Communication on “equality of opportunity for people with disabilities,” the Communication “towards a barrier free Europe for people with disabilities,” and the Council Resolution “on promoting the employment and social integration of people with disabilities,” the EU has shown its commitment to a civil rights approach to disability employment issues (EU Supplement 2003). However, because Member States have control over national employment policy, the employment situation for people with disabilities is diverse across the EU. The employment rate in many EU countries is more than half that of the EU average (see Appendix I). This paper endeavors to explain why employment levels vary across the EU by arguing the importance of two things—policy choice and national disability organizations.1,2

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