Finding employment can be a challenge for anyone entering the job market. For people with disabilities, those challenges can be even greater—the unemployment rate for that group is twice that of the overall population.
“People with disabilities are underrepresented in the workforce. It is important for businesses to be able to reach out to an untapped labor market,” said Pamela Stafford of the University of New Mexico’s Center for Development and Disability speaking at Tuesday’s Persons With Disabilities Job Fair.
She says there’s an overall lack of opportunities for people with disabilities to earn a competitive wage, which makes it harder for them to support themselves and be self-sufficient.
The job fair is part of a month-long campaign for inclusive hiring that the center is holding throughout October, to correspond with Disability Employment Awareness month.
