An Ill Wind

An ill wind

It is often said that even an ill wind blows some good.  Such is the case with the current employment situation in the United States.  Presently, the U.S. has an aging population and therefore, workers are leaving the workforce. Ordinarily this condition is not a bad thing because that leaves room for the younger members of the population to move into those spots.   Problem is there aren’t enough younger members to join the workforce.  The situation is going to get worse since the number of people immigrating to this country is down considerably and so is the birthrate of those people living here.

As a consequence, businesses cannot expand as much as they would like and some are having difficulty maintaining the status quo.  Capitalism is a creative economic system.  To meet this challenge we are seeing two big changes coming into play. First of all big companies are going all out for AI (artificial intelligence) converting as many operations as possible to robots.  But what about the little guys without millions to spend.

That’s where the good news comes in.   Many potential employees who have been marginalized because of ethnic background and/or perceived disability are getting another look.  That is particularly true with regard to those with disabilities.   Employers have been very slow to hire folks with disabilities.  They often need special training, are not as easily switched to different functions and may not have good attendance.  Bottom line, they need extra work by the employer and if people who require less attention are standing in line for the job why bother.

The truth is that once trained, people with disabilities make terrific employees and employers are finding that out in droves.   More cognitively challenged workers are finding jobs with small convenience stores doing stocking and assisting customers, as checkers in super markets, and in small restaurants that value customer service over speed.  Employers are learning by their own experiences that these employees love their work and are happy to do it.  And just as importantly, they will stay on the job for a long time.

There are also lots of jobs for people on the autism spectrum.  The rigidity is reframed as great attention to detail  Microsoft is discovering the value of workers on the spectrum in programming and organization.  

The unemployment rate for the general population is currently at 4%.   The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 67%.   That ill will that is blowing across the land might just blow some very good news for people with disabilities.  The times may be a-changing.