While disability prevalence among youth is lower than their older counterparts, youth aged 15 to 24 experienced the largest disability rate increase of all age groups from 2017 to 2022, going from 13.1% to 20.1% (+7 percentage points). In comparison, the disability rate among those aged 65 years and older increased from 37.8% to 40.4% (+2.6 percentage points) over the same period.
For many youth in the 15-to-24 age group, this period of life is marked by several key transitions, such as moving into the workforce, leaving high school, or entering post-secondary education. A new fact sheet, "Education and employment experiences of youth with disabilities, 2022," released today, examines the combinations of educational and employment statuses among those aged 15 to 24 years, with further disaggregation by different characteristics, such as, disability severity, disability cooccurrence, region, gender and immigrant status. Examining patterns of school attendance and work, including identifying those who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), can be used to identify populations that may be at a higher risk of falling behind their peers in the same age group.
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