2015 State Report for County-Level Data: Employment

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the following individuals who have contributed to the success of this effort: Deb Brucker, Erin Dame, Adam Lavoie, Rachel Coleman, Kate Filanoski, Karen Volle, and Anna Brennan-Curry.

Funding for this publication is made possible by:

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC), funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), grant number 90RTGE0001-01-00; and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy and Measurement (EPM-RRTC), also funded by NIDILRR, grant number 90RT5037-03-00. The information developed by the StatsRRTC and EPM-RRTC does not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government (Edgar, 75.620 (b)).

The StatsRRTC and EPM-RRTC are part of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. The Institute on Disability/UCED (IOD) was established in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of people with disabilities and their families and is New Hampshire’s University Center for Excellence in Disability (UCED). Located within the University of New Hampshire, the IOD is a federally designated center authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Act. Through innovative and interdisciplinary research, academic, service, and dissemination initiatives, the IOD builds local, state, and national capacities to respond to the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families.

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2015 Tennessee Report for County-Level Data: Employment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on

Disability Statistics and Demographics

A NIDILRR-Funded Center

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Introduction

The State Reports for County-Level Data on Employment are designed to provide the users of disability statistics with the employed count and employment rate for civilians with disabilities, ages 18 to 64 years and living in the community, for any given state and county in the United States (U.S.). This report is intended to be an online complement to Section 2: Employment of the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, providing greater detail within each state. The State Reports for County-Level Data on Employment can be used to compare county-level statistics between counties in any given state or states. The following report provides county-level statistics for Tennessee.

The proportion of the civilian non-institutionalized population with disabilities who are employed, sometimes called the employment rate or employment-to-population ratio, presented in the State Reports for County-Level Data is a useful tool for advocates, researchers, and policy-makers to plan and provide services and supports for the employment of people with disabilities. In this report, the employment of people with disabilities is presented as the number of employed civilians with disabilities, ages 18 to 64 years and living in the community, in a given state and county per total state and county populations, respectively. Counts and percentages (the employment rate) are provided in tables and maps.

The data for this report come from the American Community Survey 5-year data. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a national survey developed by the U.S. Census Bureau to provide information on a number of topics about social, economic, and demographic characteristics of the U.S. population. ACS 5-year data is collected over a longer period of time than 1-year data, providing larger sample sizes and increased reliability for less populated areas and small population subgroups. All of the statistics in this report use the ACS 5-year data which includes data from 2015, the year of the report, and data from the four previous years. In the ACS, people are identified as having a disability based on responses to a series of six questions asking about having difficulties with vision, hearing, ambulation, cognition, self-care, and independent living (see glossary for further details). 

 

 

 

In the ACS, people are also asked a series of questions designed to identify their employment status. Based on the answers, individuals were classified into one of five groups:

  • People who worked at any time during the reference week;
  • People on temporary layoff who were available for work;
  • People who did not work during the reference week but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent (excluding layoff);
  • People who did not work during the reference week, but who were looking for work during the last four weeks and were available for work during the reference week; and
  • People not in the labor force. 

In the ACS, people are identified as being employed if they responded as having worked during the past week. 

Specific to Tennessee, the state chosen for this report, sentences providing interpretation and context for employment statistics are included on the following page. A short glossary of terms is also provided at the end of the report explaining the statistics that are illustrated in each sentence.

Additional Resources. The Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and its complement, the Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, are summaries of statistics about people with disabilities, available both in hard copy and online at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org

Help navigating any of the resources described here can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org/faq. Assistance interpreting and locating additional statistics is available via our toll-free number, 866.538.9521, or by email, disability.statistics@unh.edu. For more information about our research projects, please visit https://www.researchondisability.org.

Suggested Citation. Boege, S.L., Lauer, E.A., & Houtenville, A.J., 2019. 2015 State Report for Tennessee County-Level Data: Employment. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability.

Interpretation

The following statements are designed to help understand the 2015 county-level employment statistics from Tennessee that are presented:

 

  • For people with disabilities:
    • The employment rate for people with disabilities in Tennessee was 29.4%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of employment rates for people with disabilities across Tennessee counties was 30.8%.
      • The county with the greatest employment rate for people with disabilities was Moore (43.2%).
      • The county with the smallest employment rate for people with disabilities was Hancock (12.4%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, employment rate for people with disabilities across all counties in Tennessee was 25.7%.

 

  • For people without disabilities:
    • The employment rate for people without disabilities in Tennessee was 74.3%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of employment rates for people without disabilities across Tennessee counties was 16.9%.
      • The county with the greatest employment rate for people without disabilities was Moore and Sevier (79.7%).
      • The county with the smallest employment rate for people without disabilities was Grundy (62.8%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, employment rate for people without disabilities across all counties in Tennessee was 71.3%.
Employment of Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Tennessee, by County: 2015
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2] Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2]
Tennessee  544,262 159,916 29.4 3,440,844 2,556,096 74.3  Franklin    3,640   1,019 28.0    21,065    14,835 70.4
 Anderson    7,666   1,972 25.7    37,403    27,477 73.5   Gibson     4,416   1,135 25.7    23,951    17,726 74.0
 Bedford     4,123   1,263 30.6    22,973    17,408 75.8   Giles      2,614     584 22.3    14,706    10,576 71.9
  Benton     1,979     519 26.2     7,368     4,848 65.8  Grainger    2,709     518 19.1    11,110     7,870 70.8
 Bledsoe     1,923     528 27.5     5,652     3,916 69.3   Greene     8,421   2,329 27.7    32,512    23,829 73.3
  Blount     9,984   2,978 29.8    65,592    49,241 75.1   Grundy     1,826     399 21.9     5,930     3,727 62.8
 Bradley    10,463   3,346 32.0    52,419    37,715 71.9  Hamblen     6,540   1,258 19.2    30,544    21,698 71.0
 Campbell    5,490     983 17.9    18,547    12,094 65.2  Hamilton   26,346   8,751 33.2   191,486   144,116 75.3
  Cannon     1,567     336 21.4     6,757     4,991 73.9  Hancock     1,063     132 12.4     2,853     1,921 67.3
 Carroll     2,873     684 23.8    13,755     9,262 67.3  Hardeman    2,294     380 16.6    11,255     7,331 65.1
  Carter     6,715   2,056 30.6    27,672    19,513 70.5   Hardin     2,830     660 23.3    12,243     7,912 64.6
 Cheatham    3,575   1,055 29.5    21,208    16,700 78.7  Hawkins     6,964   1,584 22.7    26,898    19,142 71.2
 Chester     1,052     341 32.4     9,591     6,421 66.9  Haywood     1,880     422 22.4     9,006     6,241 69.3
Claiborne    3,901     498 12.8    15,724    10,797 68.7 Henderson    2,901     690 23.8    13,731     9,753 71.0
   Clay        877     137 15.6     3,487     2,414 69.2   Henry      3,747   1,130 30.2    14,638    10,360 70.8
  Cocke      4,284   1,077 25.1    16,853    11,731 69.6  Hickman     3,122     978 31.3    10,788     7,815 72.4
  Coffee     5,793   1,775 30.6    25,670    18,839 73.4  Houston       993     321 32.3     3,732     2,441 65.4
 Crockett    1,570     404 25.7     6,918     5,038 72.8 Humphreys    1,730     522 30.2     9,004     6,163 68.4
Cumberland   6,319   1,625 25.7    24,043    17,027 70.8  Jackson     1,615     337 20.9     5,205     3,296 63.3
 Davidson   44,042  16,477 37.4   394,931   308,749 78.2 Jefferson    5,641   1,721 30.5    25,808    19,319 74.9
  DeKalb     2,209     492 22.3     9,194     6,560 71.4  Johnson     2,138     321 15.0     7,335     5,357 73.0
 Decatur     1,171     306 26.1     5,416     3,811 70.4    Knox     30,664  10,294 33.6   253,918   193,652 76.3
 Dickson     5,105   1,485 29.1    25,400    18,961 74.6    Lake        767     114 14.9     2,158     1,565 72.5
   Dyer      3,928   1,105 28.1    18,567    14,172 76.3 Lauderdale   3,395     665 19.6    11,261     7,775 69.0
 Fayette     3,217     872 27.1    20,260    14,917 73.6  Lawrence    3,758     807 21.5    20,431    14,871 72.8
 Fentress    2,438     609 25.0     7,876     5,050 64.1   Lewis      1,276     343 26.9     5,603     4,150 74.1
Employment of Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Tennessee, by County: 2015
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2] Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2]
 Lincoln     3,905   1,335 34.2    15,870    11,983 75.5   Sevier     9,463   2,989 31.6    47,457    37,802 79.7
  Loudon     3,991   1,134 28.4    23,967    17,072 71.2   Shelby    66,433  20,516 30.9   516,639   380,816 73.7
  Macon      2,577     781 30.3    11,018     8,234 74.7   Smith      1,869     456 24.4     9,610     7,106 73.9
 Madison     8,517   2,441 28.7    52,091    37,760 72.5  Stewart     1,329     263 19.8     6,408     4,315 67.3
  Marion     3,267   1,064 32.6    13,763    10,057 73.1  Sullivan   16,326   4,135 25.3    76,910    57,154 74.3
 Marshall    2,809     767 27.3    16,189    12,086 74.7   Sumner    10,929   4,052 37.1    92,158    72,966 79.2
  Maury      6,913   2,205 31.9    44,512    34,409 77.3   Tipton     4,610   1,246 27.0    32,613    24,351 74.7
  McMinn     5,188   1,247 24.0    25,892    18,000 69.5 Trousdale      768     164 21.4     4,024     2,947 73.2
 McNairy     2,821     416 14.7    12,190     7,757 63.6   Unicoi     2,578     661 25.6     8,035     5,500 68.5
  Meigs      1,762     233 13.2     5,162     3,333 64.6   Union      2,197     482 21.9     9,459     6,006 63.5
  Monroe     4,321     998 23.1    22,441    14,258 63.5 Van Buren      685     155 22.6     2,654     1,862 70.2
Montgomery  14,914   5,662 38.0    91,786    64,484 70.3   Warren     4,323     821 19.0    19,275    14,288 74.1
  Moore        407     176 43.2     3,316     2,644 79.7 Washington  11,627   3,316 28.5    67,364    50,678 75.2
  Morgan     2,197     451 20.5     8,853     5,942 67.1   Wayne      1,629     328 20.1     7,248     5,076 70.0
  Obion      3,147     795 25.3    15,217    10,852 71.3  Weakley     2,884     768 26.6    18,956    12,754 67.3
 Overton     2,064     302 14.6    10,696     7,604 71.1   White      2,699     427 15.8    12,566     8,731 69.5
  Perry        844     254 30.1     3,653     2,390 65.4 Williamson   6,678   2,715 40.7   113,888    88,805 78.0
 Pickett       401      94 23.4     2,433     1,908 78.4   Wilson     7,838   3,127 39.9    67,155    52,017 77.5
   Polk      1,816     373 20.5     8,050     5,690 70.7                                                         
  Putnam     5,692   1,353 23.8    40,612    27,031 66.6                                                         
   Rhea      4,760   1,078 22.6    14,462    10,574 73.1                                                         
  Roane      6,212   1,281 20.6    25,179    17,698 70.3                                                         
Robertson    5,074   2,067 40.7    36,105    27,709 76.7                                                         
Rutherford  15,269   5,221 34.2   167,993   131,074 78.0                                                         
  Scott      3,192     840 26.3     9,904     6,436 65.0                                                         
Sequatchie   1,783     390 21.9     6,624     4,844 73.1                                                         
Count of Employed Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Tennessee, by County: 2015

Employment Rate for Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Tennessee, by County: 2015

Discussion

There are a number of concepts and factors which complicate the interpretation of the estimates presented in this report. These concerns affect all statistics from population-based surveys. The estimates included in this document should be interpreted the following limitations in mind and generalized with caution. In each point, a link to the U.S. Census Bureau website describing the limitation or concept in greater detail in the ACS has been provided.

Additional links to resources for the ACS:

Glossary

American Community Survey (ACS) — The American Community Survey is a large, continuous demographic survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that will provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America’s communities every year. Annual and multiyear estimates of population and housing data are generated for small areas, including tracts and population subgroups. This information is collected by mailing questionnaires to a sample of addresses. See the U.S. Census Bureau website for additional details.

The Six Disability Questions in the American Community Survey:

  1. Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing? (yes or no)
  2. Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (yes or no)
  3. (If person 5 years old or over) Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (yes or no)
  4. (If person 5 years or old over) Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (yes or no)
  5. (If person 5 years old or over) Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing? (yes or no)
  6. (If person 15 years old or over) Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (yes or no)

Average — The sum of all of the values in a sample divided by the number of values in the sample.

Civilian — A person not in active-duty military.

Employed – Individuals were asked a series of questions designed to identify their employment status. Based on the answers, individuals were classified into one of five groups: (1) people who worked at any time during the reference week; (2) people on temporary layoff who were available for work; (3) people who did not work during the reference week but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent (excluding layoff); (4) people who did not work during the reference week, but who were looking for work during the last four weeks and were available for work during the reference week; and (5) people not in the labor force. People who responded as having worked during the past week were considered "employed".

Employment Rate — The number of individuals that are employed as a percent of the civilian non-institutional population.

Living in the Community – A person lives in the community, if the person is not living in an institution, such as jail, prison, nursing home, and hospital. A college dormitory is not considered an institution.

Median — The middle-most value of a sample that separates the upper half of the values from the lower half of the values. 

Non-Institutionalized Population — Describes individuals who are residing in the community and who are not living in institutions such as jails, prisons, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.

Population — The total number of inhabitants in a defined geographic area including all races, classes, and groups.

Range — The difference between the largest and smallest values in a sample. In a sample, when the smallest value is subtracted from the largest value the resulting value is called the range. 

Sampling Variability — The variation of a statistic when estimated from repeated samples.

United States Census Bureau — An agency within the United States Federal Statistical System tasked with producing data about the American people and economy. Their primary task is to conduct the United States Census every ten years.

About the Center

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC)

Led by the University of New Hampshire, the StatsRRTC is a collaborative effort involving the following partners: American Association of People with Disabilities, Center for Essential Management Services, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Kessler Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, and Public Health Institute.

The StatsRRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research under grant number 90RTGE00010100, from 2018–2023.

Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (EPM-RRTC)

Led by the University of New Hampshire, the EPM-RRTC is a collaborative effort involving the following partners: Association of University Centers on Disability, Hunter College, Kessler Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, and the University of Chicago.

The EPM-RRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research under grant number 90RT503701, from 2015–2020.

Contact Information
University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability
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Durham, NH 03824
Toll-Free Telephone/TTY: 866-538-9521
E-mail: Disability.Statistics@unh.edu
https://www.researchondisability.org