Saturday, June 06, 2026

 

More people with disabilities are seeking work in the US  


nTIDE June 2026 Jobs Report



Kessler Foundation

nTIDE Month-to-Month Comparison of Labor Market Indicators for People with and without Disabilities 

image: 

From April 2026 to May 2026, the employment-to-population ratio decreased from 37.9 to 37.8 percent for people with disabilities and increased from 74.9 to 75.0 percent for people without disabilities. The labor force participation rate increased from 41.1 to 42.0 percent for people with disabilities and increased from 77.9 to 78.0 percent for people without disabilities.

view more 

Credit: Kessler Foundation





The June 2026 National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) report reveals a large increase in job seeking among people with disabilities, signaling that more individuals are entering the labor force as economic pressure intensifies. This finding aligns with last month’s nTIDE forecast that rising prices would push more people with disabilities to seek employment, while progress in employment access continues.

Issued monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability, nTIDE tracks how broader economic conditions affect employment trends for people with and without disabilities.

Based on data from today’s BLS Jobs Report and separate nTIDE analysis, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) decreased slightly from 37.9 percent in April 2026 to 37.8 percent in May 2026 (down 0.3 percent or 0.1 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the employment-to-population ratio increased from 74.9 percent in April 2026 to 75.0 percent in May 2026 (up 0.1 percent or 0.1 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, is the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the total population, then multiplied by 100).

In contrast, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities increased from 41.1 percent in April 2026 to 42.0 percent in May 2026 (up 2.2 percent or 0.9 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate increased from 77.9 percent in April 2026 to 78.0 percent in May 2026 (up 0.1 percent or 0.1 percentage points). The labor force participation rate reflects the percentage of people who are in the labor force (working, on temporary layoff, on furlough, or actively looking for work in the last four weeks) relative to the total population (the number of people in the labor force divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

“The labor force participation rate increased substantially while the employment-to-population ratio decreased slightly for people with disabilities. Taken together, these data suggest that more people with disabilities are entering the labor force and actively looking for work,” said Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics and director of the UNH-IOD. “This pattern is consistent with what we expect during inflationary periods, when people seek work to help offset rising prices and cover basic needs for themselves and their families. According to the most recent Annual Report on People with Disabilities in America, people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in families with incomes below the poverty line, making higher costs even more perilous for these households.”

Compared with the same time last year, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities   decreased from 38.0 percent in May 2025 to 37.8 percent in May 2026 (down 0.5 percent or 0.2 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 74.8 percent in May 2025 to 75.0 percent in May 2026 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points).

The labor force participation rate for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) increased from 41.4 percent in May 2025 to 42.0 percent in May 2026 (up 1.4 percent or 0.6 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16-64), the labor force participation rate also increased from 77.8 percent in May 2025 to 78.0 percent in May 2026 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points).

In May, among workers ages 16-64, the 6,484,000 workers with disabilities represented 4.3 percent of the total 151,316,000 workers in the U.S.

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment
On the same day nTIDE is issued, the team hosts an nTIDE Lunch and Learn webinar. This live Zoom broadcast gives attendees a chance to ask questions about the latest findings, hear news and updates from the field, and learn from invited panelists who discuss current disability-related research and events.

On June 5, 2026, guest presenters Vicki Phillips, Mental Health Association in Atlantic County, and Donald Campbell, Atlantic Center for Independent Living, Principal at Unlock Access, joins Dr. Houtenville, and Shoshana Marin, Policy Fellow at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Visit the nTIDE archives at ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE to see a recording of this nTIDE Lunch and Learn episode.

About National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE)
nTIDE is a joint effort of Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability. The nTIDE team tracks employment trends for people with and without disabilities, issuing monthly reports that reflect the impact of economic changes on the workforce. These reports use data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics but are customized by UNH-IOD to focus on working-age adults (ages 16 to 64). nTIDE is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR; 90RTGE0005) and Kessler Foundation.

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, founded in 1987, seeks to expand access and opportunity for people with disabilities in ways that strengthen communities locally and nationally. As part of a Carnegie Classification R1 university, the IOD accelerates disability inclusion through research, education, and collaboration. Its Center for Research on Disability delivers trusted analysis and tools that make disability data more accessible and actionable.

About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, founded in 1985, is a New Jersey-based nonprofit and global leader in rehabilitation research committed to changing the lives of people with disabilities. By conducting groundbreaking research, Kessler Foundation advances recovery and fosters independence to build a more inclusive and accessible world.

Our team of award-winning scientists develop and test novel interventions to transform care and optimize mobility, cognition, and quality of life for people with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, autism, and other neurological and developmental disabilities. By analyzing community and workforce participation, developing evidence-based solutions, and funding impactful community initiatives that expand employment opportunities, Kessler Foundation also addresses barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities.

Powered by a dedicated team of over 175 professionals funded by federal and state grants and private philanthropy, Kessler Foundation is redefining what is possible in rehabilitation care and recovery. For more information, visit kesslerfoundation.org.

 

Climate change and wine grapes: Go, stay or change?




Cornell University





ITHACA, N.Y. – When temperatures climb above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, grape clusters can heat to nearly 140 degrees in direct sunlight. The berries shrivel. Their color compounds break down. Yields drop. And for growers who have invested millions in land and vines expected to produce for decades, a single brutal heat wave can ripple through the balance sheet for years.

Climate change is making those calculations harder. Around the world, wine regions are confronting the same question: How do you keep making great wine when the climate that once defined your “terroir” is shifting?

A new interdisciplinary study by Cornell researchers tries to answer that question not just with agronomy, but with economics. Should growers keep growing the grapes they’ve historically grown, aided by new technologies? Or should they move their growing to cooler climes? Or maybe pivot to more heat- and drought-resistant grape varieties? 

The researchers’ conclusion: It depends. The smartest strategy hinges on how extreme the future climate becomes – and how willing wine drinkers are to embrace change.

Bradley Rickard, professor of food and agricultural economics; Alex Susskind, professor of wine education and management; and Justine E. Vanden Heuvel, professor of horticulture, collaborated to examine three strategies wine grape growers might use to cope with rising heat: shielding grapes from the sun with shade cloth, switching to more heat-tolerant grape varieties, or moving vineyards to cooler regions.

“Wine grapes are unique in that people are very attached to certain cultivars and the sense of the place where they come from,” Vanden Heuvel said. “That’s not true with most other crops. Do you care where your radish comes from?” 

Global temperatures have already risen more than 1 degree Celsius since preindustrial times, and vineyards are feeling the effects. Grapevines are sensitive to temperature at several stages of growth. At around 86 degrees Fahrenheit, photosynthesis begins to falter. Around 95 degrees Fahrenheit, compounds that give red wine its color start to degrade. Above 104, cells can suffer outright damage.

For iconic grapes like cabernet sauvignon, prolonged heat waves can shrink harvests and alter flavor.

That’s a particularly thorny problem in prestigious regions like Napa County, where cabernet commands some of the highest grape prices in the world. Consumers want to see it right on the label.

“Wine around the world has this tradition of having on the label the name of the grape and where it came from,” said Rickard. “Even inexpensive box and jug wine has the name of grape and place of origin on the front, and even among less-sophisticated consumers, there’s recognition of that. This paper is trying to understand if changing anything about that formula – whether the grape, the location or the production method – can affect what consumers are willing to pay.”

To understand the financial stakes, the researchers built a detailed economic model of a vineyard’s life cycle. Establishing a vineyard is expensive: planting vines, installing trellises and irrigation, and waiting years for the first full harvest. Once planted, a vineyard might produce grapes for 30 years.

The team calculated the long-term financial return of three climate-adaptation strategies.

The first option was technology: installing shade cloth above vines to block direct sunlight. Studies show this can lower grape temperatures by several degrees, reducing sunburn and protecting quality during heat waves. But it also adds substantial costs, Vanden Heuvel said, including installation and replacement every several years.

The second option was changing the grape itself. Instead of cabernet sauvignon, growers could plant varieties that tolerate hotter climates, such as carignane. These grapes often yield more fruit in hot conditions, though they may fetch lower prices.

The third option was migration. Rather than changing grapes, a grower might move production to a cooler nearby region such as Lake County, where temperatures historically run lower than in Napa.

Because wine markets depend heavily on consumer perception, the researchers also surveyed more than 300 American wine drinkers.

Participants were shown hypothetical wine labels reflecting the three strategies and asked how much they would be willing to pay.

The results were somewhat encouraging for growers experimenting with climate adaptations. When consumers were told that a wine used shade technology to protect grapes from extreme heat, they were willing to pay about 17% more on average. Wines made from a different grape variety received a roughly 12% premium when consumers learned the change helped vineyards adapt to climate stress. 

“It is safe to say that consumers are beginning to understand how climate change is affecting wine production,” Susskind said. “And they appear to be willing to pay a price premium as wine makers adjust to the new their normal.” 

Even wines produced in a new region received a modest boost in perceived value.

But those premiums were likely temporary. The researchers assumed they might last only a few years before fading as novelty wore off.

When the team ran the economic simulations, the “best” strategy shifted depending on how severe future heat waves became.

If climate change brings only mild temperature increases, sticking with traditional cabernet sauvignon in Napa remains the most profitable approach. Under moderate heat stress, however, installing shade cloth can pay off, protecting yields enough to justify the added cost. And in the most extreme scenarios, switching to a heat-tolerant grape variety produced the strongest financial return.

In other words, adaptation is not one decision but an evolving set of tradeoffs. The Cornell researchers say their framework could help vineyard owners evaluate those decisions with clearer financial expectations.

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

 Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

-30-

 

Biochar can reshape how soils respond to warming, but the effect depends on the soil



New study shows that wood biochar may lower the temperature sensitivity of nitrous oxide emissions in agricultural soil while increasing it in forest soil




Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

Biochar modulates temperature sensitivity of soil N2O emissions: soil-specific mechanisms 

image: 

Biochar modulates temperature sensitivity of soil N2O emissions: soil-specific mechanisms

view more 

Credit: Siyu Luo, Zhibo Li, Jing Hu & Xiaolin Liao





As the planet warms, soils may release more nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to agriculture, fertilizer use, and microbial nitrogen cycling. A new study published in Biochar shows that biochar, a carbon-rich material made by heating biomass with limited oxygen, can change how strongly soil nitrous oxide emissions respond to rising temperatures. But the effect is not one-size-fits-all.

Researchers tested two contrasting soils, agricultural soil and forest soil, with two types of biochar made from wood and rice husk. They applied the biochars at two rates, 1% and 3%, and incubated the soils at 10 °C, 20 °C, and 30 °C. The team focused on Q10, a measure of how much a biological process changes when temperature rises by 10 °C.

The study found that nitrous oxide emissions increased with warming in both soils, but forest soil was more temperature-sensitive than agricultural soil. Q10 values were higher in forest soil, ranging from 1.63 to 2.84, compared with 1.13 to 1.63 in agricultural soil. This suggests that warming may have a stronger effect on nitrous oxide release in soils with more active nitrogen cycling and higher nutrient availability.

“Biochar is often discussed as a climate mitigation tool, but our findings show that its effects depend strongly on the soil environment,” said corresponding author Xiaolin Liao. “The same biochar treatment can push soil nitrogen processes in different directions depending on whether the soil is agricultural or forest soil.”

Among all treatments, only high-rate wood biochar significantly changed the temperature sensitivity of nitrous oxide emissions. In agricultural soil, it lowered Q10, meaning that nitrous oxide emissions became less responsive to warming. The researchers found that this treatment strongly reduced nitrate availability and weakened the temperature response of nitrate, creating greater substrate limitation for nitrous oxide production.

In forest soil, however, high-rate wood biochar had the opposite effect. It increased Q10, even though biochar generally reduced total nitrous oxide emissions in that soil. The authors suggest that wood biochar may have altered short-term nitrate retention and strengthened the coupling between nitrification and nitrate-consuming processes, making nitrous oxide emissions more sensitive to temperature changes.

“This result is important because it shows that reducing total emissions and reducing warming sensitivity are not always the same goal,” said first author Siyu Luo. “A treatment may suppress nitrous oxide emissions overall, while still changing how emissions respond to future warming.”

The team also measured soil pH, dissolved organic carbon, ammonium, nitrate, microbial biomass carbon, and several nitrogen-related microbial functional genes. Their path modeling showed that temperature was the dominant driver of nitrous oxide emissions, acting through changes in substrate availability, soil pH, and microbial genes. Biochar acted as a secondary modulator, shaping the soil conditions that control microbial nitrogen transformations.

The findings add nuance to the growing interest in biochar as a climate-smart soil amendment. Rather than applying biochar with a universal expectation of greenhouse gas mitigation, the study suggests that soil type, biochar feedstock, and application rate should all be considered when designing biochar strategies under climate change.

“Our study highlights the need for soil-specific biochar management,” Liao said. “To use biochar effectively for nitrous oxide mitigation, we need to understand not only whether it lowers emissions, but also how it changes the sensitivity of those emissions to warming.”

The research provides new mechanistic insight into how biochar, temperature, and microbial nitrogen cycling interact, offering guidance for more targeted soil management in a warming world.

 

=== 

Journal Reference: Luo, S., Li, Z., Hu, J. et al. Biochar modulates temperature sensitivity of soil N2O emissions: soil-specific mechanisms. Biochar 8, 81 (2026).   

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-026-00591-2