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U.S. Employment of people with disabilities reaches all-time highs at end of 2025

National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) January 2026 Jobs Report

Kessler Foundation

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From November 2025 to December 2025, the employment-to-population ratio decreased from 39.8 to 38.9 percent for people with disabilities and decreased from 74.9 to 74.8 percent for people without disabilities. The labor force participation rate decreased from 42.8 to 42.6 percent for people with disabilities and decreased from 78.2 to 77.9 percent for people without disabilities.

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Credit: Kessler Foundation

East Hanover, NJ – January 9, 2026 – The January 2026 National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) report shows that employment outcomes for working-aged people with disabilities reached all-time highs in November and December 2025, potentially representing a push past the plateau experienced since mid-2023. nTIDE is issued monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.

Due to the government shut down, statistics for the month of November were posted on December 19, marking the first time nTIDE has reported November data. November recorded all-time highs in both the employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate. Statistics for December 2025 were released today and remained at near-record levels, following the historic highs recorded in November.

Based on data from today’s BLS Jobs Report the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16 to 64) decreased from 39.8 percent in November 2025 to 38.9 percent in December 2025 (down 2.3 percent or 0.9 percentage points). For people without disabilities (ages 16 to 64), the employment-to-population ratio decreased from 74.9 percent in November 2025 to 74.8 percent in December 2025 (down 0.1 percent or 0.1 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

Month-to-Month nTIDE Numbers (comparing November 2025 to December 2025)

“Employment to population ratios reached all-time highs in November (39.8%) and December (38.9%) of 2025, possibly reflecting employers’ increased demand for additional employees during the holiday shopping season. Notably, these levels are well above those observed during the 2024 holiday shopping season,” remarked John O’Neill, PhD, director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation. “These findings also indicate that people with disabilities continue to pursue employment and make progress beyond the plateau that emerged following the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Similarly, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities decreased from 42.8 percent in November 2025 to 42.6 percent in December 2025 (down 0.5 percent or 0.2 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate decreased from 78.2 percent in November 2025 to 77.9 percent in December 2025 (down 0.4 percent or 0.3 percentage points).

“Over the past two months, people with disabilities have been entering the labor force at record numbers,” said Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics and director of the UNH-IOD. “As always, a rise in labor force participation is a double-edged sword. While it is encouraging to see greater engagement in the labor market, increases in participation may also reflect families facing financial pressure from the rising cost of living,” he added.

When compared to the same month last year, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities increased from 38.1 percent in December 2024 to 38.9 percent in December 2025 (up 2.1 percent or 0.8 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio decreased from 74.9 percent in December 2024 to 74.8 percent in December 2025 (down 0.1 percent or 0.1 percentage points).
 

Year-to-Year nTIDE Numbers (comparing December 2024 to December 2025)

The labor force participation rate for people with disabilities increased from 41.3 percent in December 2024 to 42.6 percent in December 2025 (up 3.1 percent or 1.3 percentage points). For people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also increased from 77.7 percent in December 2024 to 77.9 percent in December 2025 (up 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points).

In December, among workers ages 16 to 64, the 7,082,000 workers with disabilities represented 4.7 percent of the total 152,268,000 workers in the U.S.

From December 2024 to December 2025, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 38.1 to 38.9 percent for people with disabilities and decreased from 74.9 to 74.8 percent for people without disabilities. The labor force participation rate increased from 41.3 to 42.6 percent for people with disabilities and increased from 77.7 to 77.9 percent for people without disabilities.

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Kessler Foundation

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment
On the same day nTIDE is issued, the team hosts an nTIDE Lunch & 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 January 9, 2026, at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET, guest presenters Yvonne Kellar-Guenther, Center for Public Health Innovation, and Peter Pike, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Office of Independent Living Services joins Drs. O’Neill and Houtenville, and Lillie Heigl, director of policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Join our free Lunch and Learn live or visit the nTIDE archives at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.

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 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 expands 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. For more information, visit researchondisability.org. 

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 200 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.

Press Contact at Kessler Foundation:
Carmen Cusido, ccusido@kesslerfoundation.org

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What past global warming reveals about future rainfall

'Proxies' in geologic record show rainfall was more intense, but less regular during the Paleogene

University of Utah

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A detail from The Trek Through Time, a 16-plaque diorama at the U.S. Geological Survey’s headquarters in Reston, Va. This painting by Aldo Chiappe depicts the Paleocene Epoch, 66 to 56 million years ago during the early Paleogene Period.

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Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

To understand how global warming could influence future climate, scientists look to the Paleogene Period that began 66 million years ago, covering a time when Earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were two to four times higher than they are today.

New research by the University of Utah and the Colorado School of Mines reconstructs how rainfall responded to extreme warming during this period using “proxies,” or clues left in the geological record in the form of plant fossils, soil chemistry and river deposits. The results challenge the commonly held view that wet places get wetter when the climate warms and drier places become drier, according to co-author Thomas Reichler, professor of atmospheric sciences at the U.

“There are good reasons, physical reasons for that assumption. But now our study was a little bit surprising in the sense that even mid-latitudes regions tended to become drier,” Reichler said. “It has to do with the variability and the distribution of precipitation over time. If there are relatively long dry spells and then in between very wet periods—as in a strongly monsoonal climate—conditions are unfavorable for many types of vegetation.”

Rainfall was far more variable

Instead of focusing on the amount of precipitation each year, Reichler’s team explored when rain fell and how often. They found rainfall appears to be much less regular under extreme warming, often occurring in intense downpours separated by prolonged dry spells.

The researchers concluded polar regions were wet, even monsoonal, during the Paleogene, while many mid-latitude and continental interiors became drier overall.

The findings, published last month in the journal Nature Geoscience, are based on a comprehensive analysis of existing research. To conduct the study, Reichler teamed up with Colorado School of Mines geologists, who analyzed proxy data from the fossil record, while Reichler conducted the climate modeling with graduate student Daniel Baldassare.

This study looks back to the warmest time in Earth’s history, the early Paleogene, 66 to 48 million years ago, to understand how rainfall behaves when the planet gets very hot. This period began with the sudden demise of the dinosaurs and saw the rise of mammals in terrestrial ecosystems. This was the time when some of Utah’s notable landscapes, such as the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and the badlands of the Uinta Basin, were deposited.

It was also a period of intense warming culminating in the well-studied event called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, when levels of heat were 18 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than they were just before humans began releasing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Some scientists consider the climate of this period a possible worst-case scenario for future climate change.

Proxies in the fossil record

Since it is not possible to measure precipitation that occurred millions of years ago, scientists examine evidence in the geologic record to draw conclusions about ancient climates. In this case, Reichler’s Colorado colleagues looked at plant fossils and ancient soils.

“From the shape and size of fossilized leaves, you can infer aspects of climate of that time because you look at where similar plants exist today with those leaves. So this would be a climate proxy. It’s not direct measurement of temperature or humidity; it’s indirect evidence for climate of that time,” Reichler said.

Another example is the geomorphology of the landscape, such as river channels.

“When there is intermittent, strong precipitation then followed by long periods of drought, that precipitation is forming the riverbed in different ways because there’s very high amounts of water flowing down and carving it out or transporting the rocks much more vigorously than were it a little drizzle every day,” he said.

These reconstructions are inherently uncertain because they rely on indirect evidence rather, Reichler cautioned, but they provide the best available information about how climate operated under extreme warming.

Understanding Earth’s ancient climates enables scientists to better evaluate how well models predict climate behavior under conditions different from the present. Comparisons with paleoclimate model simulations indicate today’s models underestimate how irregular rainfall can become during extreme warming, according to Reichler.

The dry conditions documented in the study were often caused not by less total rainfall, but by shorter wet seasons and longer gaps between rain events. These patterns began millions of years before the PETM and lasted long after, suggesting that once Earth’s climate system crosses certain thresholds, rainfall behavior can change in surprising and complicated ways.

For a warming world, in other words, the timing and reliability of rain may matter more than yearly averages, and that has important implications for ecosystems, floods, droughts and water management.

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The study was posted online Dec. 22, 2025, in Nature Geoscience under the title, “More intermittent mid-latitude precipitation accompanied extreme early Palaeogene warmth.” Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation. Co-authors include sedimentologists Jacob Slawson and Piret Plink-Bjorkund of the Colorado School of Mines. Co-author Daniel Baldassare is now a research scientist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center.

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Journal

Nature Geoscience

DOI

10.1038/s41561-025-01870-6 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

More intermittent mid-latitude precipitation accompanied extreme early Palaeogene warmth

 

Study shows how money matters in dual-income relationships

How perception of household income affects a working couple’s fulfillment

University of Cincinnati

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The old saying goes: Money can’t buy happiness. But it sure can make or break a relationship.

That’s according to new research spearheaded by University of Cincinnati doctoral candidate Sharmeen Merchant that took an in-depth look at the psychological role money plays in households with two sources of income. Her team’s study was recently published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.

The results? Men’s sense of fulfillment at work is embedded with their partners’ views on money. By focusing on achievement-related money attitudes, the study highlights how men in particular integrate their partners’ perspectives into how they evaluate their own professional success. For wives and girlfriends, this trend was significantly less pronounced.

“This is about the values of money and how we approach money in our partnerships. It’s not just about the objective dollar amount you earn,” Merchant said. “Do we think it’s a source of achievement? Do we see it as materialistic?”

So if a married couple is aligned on what money means to them, the husband tends to feel more fulfilled with his job. If a couple has totally different perceptions of money, that workplace fulfillment dissipates.

Scott Dust, PhD, Carl H. Lindner College of Business professor and Merchant’s adviser, also worked on the study, alongside fellow Lindner doctoral candidate Sodiq Babatunde, Lindner assistant professor Laurens Steed and Joseph Rode from Miami University.

“That’s the practical takeaway: Choose your spouses wisely,” Dust said. “Your choice of work will certainly impact how satisfied you are at your job. But your choice of partner and what your partner’s values are can also influence how you feel about your income.”]

Read the UC News story.

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Journal

Journal of Business and Psychology

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Gender Differences on Dual-Earners’ Money as Achievement Congruence and Needs-Supplies Fit

Article Pu