Reports on Disability and Accessibility in Canada
Education and employment experiences of youth with disabilities, 2022
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Highlights
- Of the various combinations of education and employment, youth aged 15 to 24 were most likely to be enrolled in school while unemployed or not in the labour force, regardless of disability status.
- Youth with milder disabilities were more likely to be employed while in school than youth with more severe disabilities.
- Women with disabilities were more likely to be employed while in school and were also more likely to work full-time than men with disabilities.
- Men with disabilities were more likely to be working while not enrolled in school and were more likely to do so full-time, compared with women with disabilities in the same situation.
- Men with more severe disabilities were more likely not to be in employment, education or training (NEET) than men with milder disabilities and women with more severe disabilities.
Introduction
In 2022, the disability rate for persons aged 15 years and over in Canada was 27%, representing nearly 8 million people. Disability rates are shown to increase with age: 20.1% among youth aged 15 to 24 and 40.4% among seniors aged 65 and older.Note Additionally, while disability rates increased across all age groups (with the exception of seniors aged 75 and over) between 2017 and 2022, the largest increase (7 percentage points) was among youth.Note For the purposes of this fact sheet, the term “youth” refers to persons aged 15 to 24.
For many, the period of life between 15 and 24 may involve several key transitions, such as moving into the workforce, leaving high school, or entering post-secondary education.Note This report will examine the combinations of school attendance and employment, with further disaggregation by disability-related (disability severity, co-occurrence of disability types) and sociodemographic characteristics (region, gender, 2SLGBTQ+ status, racialized group and immigration status).
Findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability indicate that youth experience disability differently than older age groups, with youth being more likely to have a mild disability, less likely to have two or more disability types, and experiencing different disability types, compared with their older counterparts.
The proportion of persons with very severeNote disabilities increases with age: among youth with disabilities, 13.3% had a very severe disability, compared with 22.8% of those 45 to 64 years, 23.6% of those 65 to 74 years and 32.4% of those 75 and over.Note In contrast, 47.9% of youth with disabilities had a mild disability, compared with 37.2% of those aged 45 to 64, 34.2% of those aged 65 to 74 and 26.5% of those aged 75 and over. Secondly, the proportion of persons with multiple co-occurring disability types increases with age: seniors aged 75 and over were more than twice as likely as youth to have four or more disability types (46.8% vs. 20.3%).Note
Disability type prevalence also differs with age. Among youth, the three most prevalent disability types were mental health-related (13.6%), learning (9.2%) and pain-related (6.7%) while among seniors, pain-related (27.6%), mobility (25.5%) and flexibility (23.7%) were the most prevalent disability types.Note Mental health-related disabilities among youth rose 6 percentage points between 2017 and 2022, marking the largest increase in prevalence among all disability types for that age group.Note This increase was especially marked among young women, where the rate increased by 9 percentage points since 2017. Previous research on the general population for the COVID-19 pandemic period found that self-reported mental health status declined between 2018 and 2020, and it was particularly notable among younger age groups.Note
For many persons aged 15 to 24 years, this period of life involves several changes, as youth move from childhood to adulthood. During this time, youth will leave high school and may also move into the workforce and/or attend, and potentially complete, post-secondary education.Note Overall, employment and school attendance rates are lower for youth with disabilities compared with those without disabilities. When looking at labour force status among this age group, 41.8% of youth with disabilities were employed compared with 50.5% of youth without disabilities. Differences also existed between youth with and without disabilities for the proportion that was unemployed (15.5% vs. 11.1%) and not in the labour force (42.7% vs. 38.4%). In terms of the proportion of youth who were attending school, youth with disabilities were less likely (65.1%) than their counterparts without disabilities (69.7%) to be enrolled in school.
The following section will analyze various combinations of school attendance and employment among youth with and without disabilities. Employment will also be broken down into two further sub-categories: part-time or full-time. Key combinations of education and employment are as follows:
- Attended school, unemployed or not in the labour force (NILF)
- Attended school, employed
- Employed full-time
- Employed part-time
- Did not attend school, employed
- Employed full-time
- Employed part-time
- Not in employment, education or training (NEET)
Note on combinations of education and employment
Education is based on the data obtained from the 2021 Census of Population and refers to whether a person attended, either full-time or part-time, any accredited educational institution or program at any time during the nine-month period between September 2020 and May 11, 2021. Attendance is counted only for courses which could be used as credits towards a certificate, diploma or degree from an educational institution or program such as an elementary school, high school (secondary school), trade school, registered apprenticeship program (in-class portion), college, CEGEP or university.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youth aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed). Persons who are not in the labour force includes those who are not employed and not looking for work.
Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job. Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.
Around 4 in 10 youth are enrolled in school while unemployed or not in the labour force, regardless of disability status
A similar proportion of youth with and without disabilities, around 4 in 10, were enrolled in school while unemployed or not in the labour force (Chart 1). Among youth who were employed and not attending school, slight differences in prevalence existed between youth with disabilities (19.0%) and youth without disabilities (21.1%). Differences between youth with and without disabilities became more apparent among youth who were both attending school and employed, and youth who were NEET. Working while attending school was the second most common combination among youth, regardless of disability status. However, youth with disabilities (22.8%) were less likely than their counterparts without disabilities (29.4%) to be employed and attending school.Note Among youth who were NEET, those with disabilities were more likely to fall into this category (16.0%) than those without disabilities (9.2%). NEET was the least prevalent of the four key education and employment combinations.
Data table for Chart 1
| Employment and education category | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities (ref.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |||
| lower | upper | lower | upper | |||
|
||||||
| Attended school, unemployed or not in the labour force | 42.2 | 39.9 | 44.6 | 40.2 | 39.4 | 41.1 |
| Attended school, Employed | 22.8 Data table for Chart 1 Note * | 21.0 | 24.8 | 29.4 | 28.6 | 30.3 |
| Did not attend school, Employed | 19.0 Data table for Chart 1 Note * | 17.0 | 21.1 | 21.1 | 20.4 | 21.8 |
| Not in education, employment or training (NEET) | 16.0 Data table for Chart 1 Note * | 14.3 | 17.8 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 9.8 |
Younger age groups are more likely to be in school while unemployed or not in the labour force compared with older age groups, regardless of disability status
When further disaggregated by age group (15 to 19 years and 20 to 24 years), some differences in combinations of education and employment became more pronounced. Among both youth with and without disabilities aged 15 to 19 years, the most common education and employment combination was attending school while being unemployed or not in the labour force. Regardless of disability status, fewer youth aged 20 to 24 years were in school only, compared with their younger counterparts (Chart 2). In Canada, a high proportion of young people complete their studies within an expected time frame, ending at age 19,Note which may help to explain the higher prevalence of 15 to 19 year olds focusing solely on education. However, it should be noted that other societal norms and cultural pressures may also impact a student’s school enrollment, regardless of disability status.
The proportion of youth who did not attend school and were employed differed between the two age groups for youth with and without disabilities. For youth with disabilities, 5.9% of those aged 15 to 19 years did not attend school and were employed, compared with 30.7% of those aged 20 to 24 years. A similar trend existed among youth without disabilities, with 6.7% of those aged 15 to 19 years who did not attend school and were employed, compared with 34.4% of those aged 20 to 24 years. In addition, youth with disabilities aged 20 to 24 years were less likely to be not in school and employed than their same-age peers without a disability.
The proportion of youth with and without disabilities who were both attending school and employed did not differ significantly by age group, though it did differ by disability status. For instance, 23.2% of 15 to 19 year olds with a disability were both attending school and employed, compared with 29.1% of the same age group without a disability. Among 20 to 24 year olds, 22.5% of those with a disability were both attending school and employed, compared with 29.7% without a disability.
Of the four main combinations of education and employment, the difference between youth with and without disabilities was largest among 20 to 24 year olds who were NEET: 23.3% for youth with a disability, compared with 12.2% for youth without a disability.
Data table for Chart 2
| Combination | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities (ref.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |||
| lower | upper | lower | upper | |||
|
||||||
| Attended school, unemployed or not in the labour force | ||||||
| 15 to 19 | 63.0 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 59.9 | 66.1 | 58.2 | 56.9 | 59.5 |
| 20 to 24 | 23.5 | 20.4 | 26.8 | 23.7 | 22.6 | 24.9 |
| Attended school, Employed | ||||||
| 15 to 19 | 23.2 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 20.5 | 26.1 | 29.1 | 28.0 | 30.3 |
| 20 to 24 | 22.5 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 19.8 | 25.3 | 29.7 | 28.5 | 30.9 |
| Did not attend school, Employed | ||||||
| 15 to 19 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 7.3 |
| 20 to 24 | 30.7 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 27.5 | 34.1 | 34.4 | 33.2 | 35.6 |
| Not in employment, education or training (NEET) | ||||||
| 15 to 19 | 7.8 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 6.2 | 9.8 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 6.7 |
| 20 to 24 | 23.3 Data table for Chart 2 Note * | 20.5 | 26.5 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 13.1 |
Racialized youth with disabilities are more likely to attend school while unemployed or not in the labour force than their non-racialized counterparts
Further differences were observed when examining various characteristics of youth with disabilities within the different combinations of education and employment. Looking at those who attended school and were unemployed or not in the labour force (NILF), differences emerged by geography, racialized group and immigrant status.
When looking across different regions in Canada, the proportion of youth with disabilities who were attending school and not working was lower in British Columbia (40.5%), the Atlantic provinces (39.9%), Quebec (36.5%) and the Prairie provinces (36.4%)Note compared with Ontario (48.7%) (Table 1).Note Among youth with disabilities who were attending school while unemployed or not in the labour force, differences existed between racialized youth and non-racialized youth, as well as immigrant and non-immigrant youth. For instance, the proportion of youth who were attending school while unemployed or NILF was higher among the racialized groups (56.6%) than among the non-racialized and non-Indigenous groups (37.9%). The proportion of youth in this combination was also higher among immigrant youth with disabilities (56.1%), compared with non-immigrant youth with disabilities (40.7%).
| Characteristics | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| lower | upper | ||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022. |
|||
| Disability severity | |||
| Milder (reference category) | 42.2 | 39.2 | 45.3 |
| More severe | 42.2 | 38.3 | 46.1 |
| Number of disability types | |||
| One disability type (reference category) | 44.5 | 40.1 | 49.0 |
| Two or more co-occurring disabilities | 40.9 | 38.0 | 43.9 |
| Region | |||
| Atlantic provinces | 39.9 Table 1 Note * | 36.8 | 43.1 |
| Quebec | 36.5 Table 1 Note * | 31.3 | 42.0 |
| Ontario (reference category) | 48.7 | 43.9 | 53.5 |
| Prairie provinces | 36.4 Table 1 Note * | 32.9 | 40.0 |
| British Columbia | 40.5 Table 1 Note * | 35.4 | 45.9 |
| Territories | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Gender | |||
| Men+ (reference category) | 41.0 | 37.1 | 45.0 |
| Women+ | 43.1 | 40.0 | 46.2 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | |||
| 2SLGBTQ+ | 44.1 | 39.6 | 48.8 |
| Non-2SLGBTQ+ (reference category) | 39.6 | 36.2 | 43.0 |
| Immigrant status | |||
| Immigrant | 56.1E use with cautionTable 1 Note * | 46.9 | 64.9 |
| Non-immigrant (reference category) | 40.7 | 38.3 | 43.2 |
| Non-permanent resident | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Racialized group | |||
| Racialized | 56.6 Table 1 Note * | 50.5 | 62.5 |
| Non-racialized, non-Indigenous (reference category) | 37.9 | 35.3 | 40.7 |
A similar proportion of youth with milder disabilities and with more severe disabilities attended school and were unemployed or not in the labour force (42.2%) (Chart 3). There were variations by age group (15 to 19 years and 20 to 24 years) within each severity grouping. Among youth with milder disabilities, 61.4% of 15 to 19 year olds attended school and were unemployed or NILF, compared with 24.5% of 20 to 24 year olds. Among youth with more severe disabilities, 66.8% of 15 to 19 year olds attended school while unemployed or NILF, falling to 21.3% of 20 to 24 year olds.Note
Data table for Chart 3
| Disability severity | Total, severity classes | Milder disabilities | More severe disabilities | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | ||||
| lower | upper | lower | upper | lower | upper | ||||
|
|||||||||
| Total, 15 to 24 | 42.2 | 39.9 | 44.6 | 42.2 | 39.2 | 45.3 | 42.2 | 38.3 | 46.1 |
| 15 to 19 (ref.) | 63.0 | 59.9 | 66.1 | 61.4 | 57.3 | 65.3 | 66.8 | 61.4 | 71.8 |
| 20 to 24 | 23.5 Data table for Chart 3 Note * | 20.4 | 26.8 | 24.5 Data table for Chart 3 Note * | 20.7 | 28.7 | 21.3 Data table for Chart 3 Note * | 16.9 | 26.6 |
Youth with milder disabilities are more likely to be employed while in school than youth with more severe disabilities
Among youth with disabilities who were attending school while employed, notable differences existed when analyzed by severity, gender and racialized group. Those with milder disabilities were more likely to be employed while being enrolled in school than those with more severe disabilities (25.7% vs. 16.8%). This is true regardless of age group, as 26.8% of 15 to 19 year olds with milder disabilities were employed while in school, compared with 15.2% of their counterparts with more severe disabilities. Around one-quarter (24.6%) of 20 to 24 year olds with milder disabilities were employed while in school, compared with 18.1% of the same age group with more severe disabilities.
In some cases, working while in school can be seen as an indication of a person’s capacity to manage multiple priorities simultaneously. In other cases, it can be indicative of a person’s need to work in order to provide necessary financial support. It may also be influenced by a combination of societal and cultural practices that either encourage or discourage a person from being employed while in school, or from going to school while working.Note
Women were more likely to be employed while they were enrolled in school than men (26.5% vs. 17.5%) (Table 2). Women were also more likely to be working full-time while being enrolled in school than men (15.4% vs. 9.0%). Racialized youth with disabilities were less likely to be employed while attending school (17.3%) than non-racialized youth with disabilities (24.9%). No differences were found by 2SLGBTQ+ or immigrant status.
| Selected characteristics | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| upper | lower | ||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022. |
|||
| Disability severity | |||
| Milder (reference category) | 25.7 | 23.3 | 28.3 |
| More severe | 16.8 Table 2 Note * | 14.0 | 20.0 |
| Number of disability types | |||
| One disability type (reference category) | 26.5 | 23.2 | 30.1 |
| Two or more co-occurring disabilities | 20.7 Table 2 Note * | 18.4 | 23.2 |
| Region | |||
| Atlantic provinces | 22.5 | 20.0 | 25.1 |
| Quebec | 32.9 Table 2 Note * | 28.3 | 37.9 |
| Ontario (reference category) | 17.9 | 14.4 | 22.0 |
| Prairie provinces | 22.2 | 19.2 | 25.5 |
| British Columbia | 26.4 Table 2 Note * | 21.8 | 31.5 |
| Territories | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Gender | |||
| Men+ (reference category) | 17.5 | 15.0 | 20.4 |
| Women+ | 26.5 Table 2 Note * | 23.9 | 29.3 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | |||
| 2SLGBTQ+ | 23.3 | 19.9 | 27.2 |
| Non-2SLGBTQ+ (reference category) | 25.0 | 22.3 | 28.0 |
| Immigrant status | |||
| Immigrant | 22.4 E use with caution | 15.8 | 30.8 |
| Non-immigrant (reference category) | 23.1 | 21.1 | 25.1 |
| Non-permanent resident | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Racialized group | |||
| Racialized | 17.3 Table 2 Note * | 13.4 | 21.9 |
| Non-racialized, non-Indigenous (reference category) | 24.9 | 22.6 | 27.3 |
Youth with more severe disabilities are less likely to be employed and not in school than those with milder disabilities
Previous research indicates that the proportion of youth who are only employed increases as they graduate from secondary school. While some students move towards post-secondary studies, others move directly into the workforce, or fall into NEET.Note Among youth with disabilities aged 15 to 24, a smaller proportion of youth with more severe disabilities was employed while not being enrolled in education, compared with youth with milder disabilities (15.2% vs. 20.7%) (Table 3). The impact of disability severity is more apparent in the 20 to 24 year age group, where 34.9% of those with milder disabilities were in this category, compared with 22.2% of those with more severe disabilities (Chart 4).
Further analysis in this category according to full-time and part-time employment status showed that no statistically significant differences exist by disability severity. While no differences were present among youth with disabilities who were employed and not in school by gender, further disaggregation by full- and part-time work status did reveal some variation. Men (35.4%) were more likely than women (25.7%) to be employed full-time while not attending school.
| Selected characteristics | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| lower | upper | ||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022. |
|||
| Disability severity | |||
| Milder (reference category) | 20.7 | 18.2 | 23.5 |
| More severe | 15.2 Table 3 Note * | 12.5 | 18.4 |
| Number of disability types | |||
| One disability type (reference category) | 20.3 | 16.9 | 24.2 |
| Two or more co-occurring disabilities | 18.2 | 15.9 | 20.8 |
| Region | |||
| Atlantic provinces | 21.2 | 18.7 | 23.9 |
| Quebec | 18.1 | 14.5 | 22.4 |
| Ontario (reference category) | 18.5 | 14.6 | 23.1 |
| Prairie provinces | 19.5 | 16.9 | 22.6 |
| British Columbia | 19.0 | 15.1 | 23.6 |
| Territories | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Gender | |||
| Men+ (reference category) | 19.9 | 16.7 | 23.5 |
| Women+ | 18.4 | 16.0 | 21.0 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | |||
| 2SLGBTQ+ | 18.9 | 15.6 | 22.9 |
| Non-2SLGBTQ+ (reference category) | 21.3 | 18.5 | 24.5 |
| Immigrant status | |||
| Immigrant | 11.0 Table 3 Note * | 6.4 | 18.1 |
| Non-immigrant (reference category) | 19.5 | 17.4 | 21.8 |
| Non-permanent resident | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Racialized group | |||
| Racialized | 12.5 Table 3 Note * | 8.8 | 17.4 |
| Non-racialized, non-Indigenous (reference category) | 21.4 | 19.0 | 24.0 |
Data table for Chart 4
| Age group | Total, all severity classifications | Milder disabilities (reference category) | More severe disabilities | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | ||||
| lower | upper | lower | upper | lower | upper | ||||
|
|||||||||
| 15 to 19 years | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 5.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 7.0 | 4.3 | 2.8 |
| 20 to 24 years | 30.7 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 34.9 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 22.2 Data table for Chart 4 Note * | 4.9 | 4.2 |
Men with more severe disabilities are more likely to be NEET than women with more severe disabilities
The concept of not being in employment, education or training (NEET) is often used as an indicator to predict long-term economic and social difficulties.Note Young people who are NEET are often considered to be more vulnerable than their peers, as they may face a risk of becoming disengaged or socially excluded, and could miss out on gaining skills or experience in the labour market. As previously discussed, youth with disabilities were more likely to fall into this category of NEET (16.0%) than those without disabilities (9.2%). Understanding differences across disability and sociodemographic characteristics can help to identify and address additional gaps for youth in this situation.
Youth with more severe disabilities were more than twice as likely to be in category of NEET than those with milder disabilities (25.8% vs. 11.3%) (Table 4). Differences in the proportion of youth NEET were observed by gender, as men were more likely to fall into this category than women (21.6% vs. 12.1%). The proportion of youth NEET did not differ by 2SLGBTQ+ or racialized group. Notably, the proportion of youth NEET with disabilities was higher among those living in the Prairie provinces (21.9%) than in Ontario (14.9%).
| Selected characteristics | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| lower | upper | ||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022. |
|||
| Disability severity | |||
| Milder (reference category) | 11.3 | 9.6 | 13.4 |
| More severe | 25.8 Table 4 Note * | 22.4 | 29.5 |
| Disability co-occurrence | |||
| No co-occurring disabilities (reference category) | 8.7 | 6.8 | 11.2 |
| Two or more co-occurring disabilities | 20.2 Table 4 Note * | 17.8 | 22.7 |
| Region | |||
| Atlantic provinces | 16.4 | 14.2 | 18.9 |
| Quebec | 12.5 | 9.5 | 16.2 |
| Ontario (reference category) | 14.9 | 11.9 | 18.7 |
| Prairie provinces | 21.9 Table 4 Note * | 19.0 | 25.2 |
| British Columbia | 14.1 | 10.8 | 18.2 |
| Territories | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Gender | |||
| Men+ (reference category) | 21.6 | 18.5 | 25.1 |
| Women+ | 12.1 Table 4 Note * | 10.4 | 14.1 |
| 2SLGBTQ+ | |||
| 2SLGBTQ+ | 13.6 | 11.0 | 16.7 |
| Non-2SLGBTQ+ (reference category) | 14.0 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
| Immigration status | |||
| Immigrant | 10.5 Table 4 Note * | 6.6 | 16.3 |
| Non-immigrant (reference category) | 16.7 | 14.9 | 18.7 |
| Non-permanent resident | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published | F too unreliable to be published |
| Racialized group | |||
| Racialized | 13.6 | 10.2 | 18.1 |
| Non-racialized (reference category) | 15.8 | 13.9 | 17.9 |
When examined by severity of disability, men with milder disabilities continued to have a higher proportion of NEET individuals than women with milder disabilities (15.9% vs. 8.1%) (Chart 5). Men with more severe disabilities (34.1%) were also more likely to be NEET, compared with 20.3% of women with more severe disabilities.
Data table for Chart 5
| Disability severity | Men+ (ref.) | Women+ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | 95% confidence interval | Percent | 95% confidence interval | |||
| lower | upper | lower | upper | |||
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022. |
||||||
| Total, all severity classifications | 21.6 | 18.5 | 25.1 | 12.1 Data table for Chart 5 Note * | 10.4 | 14.1 |
| Milder disabilities | 15.9 | 12.7 | 19.8 | 8.1 Data table for Chart 5 Note * | 6.3 | 10.3 |
| More severe disabilities | 34.1 | 28.1 | 40.6 | 20.3 Data table for Chart 5 Note * | 16.7 | 24.6 |
Conclusion
This fact sheet provides a profile of youth aged 15 to 24 with disabilities in various combinations of education and employment, by disability severity, gender, region, racialized group, 2SLGBTQ+ status and immigrant status. Importantly, it describes how the experiences of youth with disabilities may differ from those of their peers without disabilities, especially as this applies to meeting certain education and employment milestones. Further breakdown of youth in each combination of education and employment participation by sociodemographic characteristics highlights the diverse experiences and potential challenges that youth with disabilities may face.
This analysis could potentially inform future research on how youth with various disability types may experience each of the included combinations of education and employment, and how various disability supports, such as employment or educational accommodations, may affect their experiences in a positive way.
Start of text boxNote to readers
The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is the official source of data on persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada. The survey population for the 2022 CSD was comprised of Canadians aged 15 years and over as of the date of the 2021 Census of the Population (May 2021) who were living in private dwellings. It excludes those living in institutions, on Canadian Armed Forces bases, on First Nations reserves, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those living in collective dwellings. As the institutionalized population is excluded, the data should be interpreted accordingly.
The CSD identifies persons with disabilities using the Disability Screening Questions (DSQ), which are based on the social model of disability. The DSQ first measures the degree to which difficulties are experienced across 10 domains of functioning, then ask how often daily activities are limited by these difficulties. Only persons who report a limitation in their day-to-day activities are identified as having a disability. For more detailed information on the DSQ, please see the Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022: Concepts and Methods Guide.
In 2022, the CSD reflected the changes made to the 2021 Census by asking respondents both their gender (male, female or please specify) and sex at birth. The 2022 CSD also asked respondents their sexual orientation for the first time (heterosexual, lesbian or gay, bisexual or please specify). Together, the gender, sex at birth and sexual orientation questions allow for the analysis of data on 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada.
The Government of Canada adopted the acronym 2SLGBTQI+ to refer to Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and those who use other terms related to gender and sexual diversity. Statistics Canada uses the acronym 2SLGBTQ+ for data analysis purposes, as information is not yet collected specifically about intersex people in surveys.
Racialized groups are based on the population group question in the census and the derived visible minority variable. The visible minority variable consists of 14 groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, visible minority – n.i.e. (not included elsewhere) (write-in responses), multiple visible minorities, other (not a visible minority) and Indigenous people. In the visible minority variable, the South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Korean and Japanese categories consist of its single response and its combination with the White category or a write-in response (Statistics Canada, 2022b).
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