Unemployment has barely begun to rise and yet the disability employment gap has leapt

The new minister for disabled people, Tom Pursglove, has promised an action plan. But hopes are not high that it will do much good, especially given that he trotted out a very dubious claim that just doesn’t stand up to cursory scrutiny at its launch

The government has promised a new disability action plan as the gap in employment rates with able-bodied Britons jumps (PA Wire)

It’s a while since I’ve looked at the disability employment gap (DEG), which represents the gulf between the rates of employment enjoyed by able-bodied Britons when compared with those of their disabled peers.

When I called Scope to get the latest figures, I was not expecting good news. We are, after all, in quite the economic pickle. On the other hand, employment rates are a lagging indicator. Unemployment is usually the result, not the cause, of economic trauma.

As such, despite a run of awful economic data, the national unemployment rate barely moved in the three months to September, rising only slightly to 3.6 per cent from 3.5 per cent in August. It is still much lower than the previous year’s 4.3 per cent.