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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Copyright 2019. Institute on Disability. University of New Hampshire.      

 

 

 

2015 North Carolina 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 North Carolina.

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 North Carolina, 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina that are presented:

 

  • For people with disabilities:
    • The employment rate for people with disabilities in North Carolina was 30.9%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of employment rates for people with disabilities across North Carolina counties was 35.6%.
      • The county with the greatest employment rate for people with disabilities was Onslow (47.4%).
      • The county with the smallest employment rate for people with disabilities was Graham (11.8%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, employment rate for people with disabilities across all counties in North Carolina was 28.0%.

 

  • For people without disabilities:
    • The employment rate for people without disabilities in North Carolina was 73.6%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of employment rates for people without disabilities across North Carolina counties was 23.0%.
      • The county with the greatest employment rate for people without disabilities was Dare (82.4%).
      • The county with the smallest employment rate for people without disabilities was Graham (59.4%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, employment rate for people without disabilities across all counties in North Carolina was 71.8%.
Employment of Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for North Carolina, by County: 2015
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2] Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2]
North Carolina 697,807 215,708 30.9 5,311,266 3,906,557 73.6   Cumberland    25,542   8,285 32.4   153,674   104,550 68.0
   Alamance     11,606   3,692 31.8    83,445    63,064 75.6   Currituck      1,648     519 31.5    13,690    10,507 76.7
  Alexander      3,338     825 24.7    18,293    14,114 77.2      Dare        2,566   1,214 47.3    19,201    15,825 82.4
  Alleghany        957     194 20.3     5,377     3,871 72.0    Davidson     14,439   4,032 27.9    84,522    63,440 75.1
    Anson        2,744     706 25.7    12,247     8,577 70.0     Davie        2,708   1,088 40.2    21,753    16,355 75.2
     Ashe        2,099     688 32.8    13,831    10,194 73.7     Duplin       5,319   1,444 27.1    29,905    21,592 72.2
    Avery        1,306     437 33.5     8,227     5,882 71.5     Durham      15,644   5,775 36.9   174,522   132,008 75.6
   Beaufort      4,544     872 19.2    22,856    16,342 71.5   Edgecombe      5,436   1,391 25.6    27,149    18,722 69.0
    Bertie       1,960     478 24.4     9,721     6,277 64.6    Forsyth      19,909   5,418 27.2   203,264   148,616 73.1
    Bladen       3,724     592 15.9    16,988    11,685 68.8    Franklin      5,029   1,656 32.9    32,979    23,425 71.0
  Brunswick      9,358   2,589 27.7    55,976    38,265 68.4     Gaston      18,885   5,168 27.4   110,459    81,241 73.5
   Buncombe     17,079   4,734 27.7   136,559   105,356 77.2     Gates        1,011     341 33.7     6,066     4,224 69.6
    Burke        9,603   2,284 23.8    44,173    31,957 72.3     Graham         650      77 11.8     4,323     2,570 59.4
   Cabarrus      9,723   3,290 33.8   105,084    80,558 76.7   Granville      5,728   1,962 34.3    28,606    21,059 73.6
   Caldwell      8,448   1,848 21.9    41,392    29,857 72.1     Greene       2,423     726 30.0     9,401     6,826 72.6
    Camden         596     245 41.1     5,429     3,901 71.9    Guilford     27,147   8,494 31.3   294,006   214,478 73.0
   Carteret      6,673   2,401 36.0    33,048    24,434 73.9    Halifax       5,836   1,177 20.2    25,236    17,224 68.3
   Caswell       2,643     758 28.7    10,961     7,882 71.9    Harnett       9,034   2,523 27.9    62,008    41,696 67.2
   Catawba      11,689   3,420 29.3    82,299    61,853 75.2    Haywood       4,779   1,360 28.5    29,739    21,503 72.3
   Chatham       3,698   1,397 37.8    34,420    25,649 74.5   Henderson      7,905   2,368 30.0    53,420    40,293 75.4
   Cherokee      2,815     737 26.2    12,200     7,694 63.1    Hertford      2,364     513 21.7    11,050     7,443 67.4
    Chowan         955     176 18.4     7,349     5,184 70.5      Hoke        4,328   1,013 23.4    23,792    15,457 65.0
     Clay          845     176 20.8     4,936     3,452 69.9      Hyde          393      55 14.0     2,702     2,094 77.5
  Cleveland      8,703   2,636 30.3    50,308    35,614 70.8    Iredell      11,284   3,575 31.7    89,894    67,617 75.2
   Columbus      5,733   1,073 18.7    26,528    18,400 69.4    Jackson       3,091     856 27.7    23,620    15,642 66.2
    Craven       8,794   3,579 40.7    47,453    34,685 73.1    Johnston     13,359   4,205 31.5    95,251    72,526 76.1
Employment of Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for North Carolina, by County: 2015
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2] Total Employed % [1] Total Employed % [2]
    Jones        1,325     436 32.9     4,674     3,285 70.3    Robeson      13,354   2,397 17.9    67,753    42,865 63.3
     Lee         4,383   1,636 37.3    30,368    22,203 73.1   Rockingham     9,337   2,414 25.9    46,662    33,436 71.7
    Lenoir       7,236   2,479 34.3    27,101    19,643 72.5     Rowan       12,053   3,004 24.9    71,166    49,727 69.9
   Lincoln       6,889   2,285 33.2    42,521    32,145 75.6   Rutherford     7,615   1,646 21.6    31,733    21,905 69.0
    Macon        2,379     596 25.1    16,266    11,478 70.6    Sampson       6,465   1,666 25.8    31,300    23,313 74.5
   Madison       1,596     358 22.4    11,301     7,959 70.4    Scotland      3,945     745 18.9    16,429     9,842 59.9
    Martin       2,032     494 24.3    11,928     7,950 66.6     Stanly       5,285   1,345 25.4    30,705    23,224 75.6
   McDowell      5,392     941 17.5    21,300    15,414 72.4     Stokes       3,675     986 26.8    24,748    17,794 71.9
 Mecklenburg    49,335  19,088 38.7   596,847   461,763 77.4     Surry        7,400   2,070 28.0    35,837    25,940 72.4
   Mitchell      1,437     346 24.1     7,578     5,184 68.4     Swain        1,059     261 24.6     7,223     4,809 66.6
  Montgomery     2,123     463 21.8    13,409     9,180 68.5  Transylvania    2,036     579 28.4    16,119    11,812 73.3
    Moore        5,222   1,671 32.0    43,811    31,594 72.1    Tyrrell         327     114 34.9     1,735     1,134 65.4
     Nash        8,183   2,289 28.0    49,000    35,594 72.6     Union        9,926   4,146 41.8   118,181    90,003 76.2
 New Hanover    13,991   4,677 33.4   123,450    92,565 75.0     Vance        6,017   1,980 32.9    20,679    14,320 69.2
 Northampton     2,416     646 26.7     9,337     5,913 63.3      Wake       40,723  16,746 41.1   589,427   459,857 78.0
    Onslow      14,149   6,708 47.4    77,149    51,547 66.8     Warren       2,476     858 34.7     8,953     5,513 61.6
    Orange       6,512   3,065 47.1    88,416    62,978 71.2   Washington     1,667     343 20.6     5,545     3,810 68.7
   Pamlico       1,164     405 34.8     5,895     4,219 71.6    Watauga       2,978     919 30.9    34,975    21,731 62.1
  Pasquotank     3,221   1,337 41.5    20,915    14,665 70.1     Wayne       10,794   3,146 29.1    61,965    44,396 71.6
    Pender       5,184   2,019 38.9    27,105    19,571 72.2     Wilkes       6,486   1,397 21.5    33,858    23,527 69.5
  Perquimans     1,142     234 20.5     6,325     4,161 65.8     Wilson       6,337   1,871 29.5    42,414    30,361 71.6
    Person       4,174   1,415 33.9    19,604    14,390 73.4     Yadkin       3,271     788 24.1    19,477    14,049 72.1
     Pitt       11,033   3,286 29.8   104,624    73,461 70.2     Yancey       1,666     369 22.1     8,471     5,970 70.5
     Polk        1,365     297 21.8     9,878     7,196 72.8                                                             
   Randolph     10,231   2,782 27.2    75,591    56,572 74.8                                                             
   Richmond      4,711     903 19.2    22,186    14,909 67.2                                                             
Count of Employed Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for North Carolina, by County: 2015

Employment Rate for Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for North Carolina, 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