An informative new study from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance outlines the contributions of persons with disabilities to Alberta’s economy. Key findings include:

• The proportion of persons with disabilities to the total population aged 15 years and older in Alberta was 27.5% in 2022.
• Almost 500,000 persons with disabilities (around 22% of employed Albertans) were employed in Alberta’s labour force in 2021.
• Persons with disabilities are employed in every sector of Alberta’s labour market
• Persons with disabilities have lower rates of employment than those without disabilities (66% versus 77% in Alberta in 2021 for the population aged 25-64).
• Those with milder disabilities have a higher average employment income than persons with more severe disabilities.
• The average earnings of persons with disabilities are about 77% of the average earnings of the general populace due to lower average hourly wages and working fewer hours per week.
• Treasury Board and Finance estimates that persons with disabilities directly contributed $49.7 billion to Alberta’s GDP in 2021 or about 13 per cent of the total.
• Not there yet - Based on Statistics Canada’s estimate of the size of the potential* labour force with disabilities in an inclusive, accessible, and accommodating labour market scenario, 142,520 Albertans with disabilities who were not employed in 2022 were considered as having work potential.

The findings above highlight both the significant economic contribution of Albertans with disabilities and the ongoing need to ensure barriers are removed so everyone has the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in the job market.

*Work potential refers to those who were officially unemployed, or who were not in the labour force but stated they would be looking for job work in the next 12 months.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Roald Amundsen's polar party was the first to reach the South Pole on December 14th, 1911.

Today’s trivia question: Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?