The Labour market situation for people with disability 2025
One in four is at risk of poverty
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-04-27 8.00
Among the population in Sweden aged 16–65, 12 percent have disability. This is equivalent to 786 000 individuals. Approximately 8 percent of the population aged 16-65 report having disability that reduces their ability to work. Among people with disability, 63 percent are in the labour force. This is considerably lower than among the rest of the population aged 16–65 without disability, of whom 88 percent were in the labour force in 2025.
Economic vulnerability is more common among people with disability than it is among the rest of the population. One way to measure economic vulnerability is to compare at-risk-of-poverty-rate between those who have disability and the rest of the population. The at-risk-of-poverty rate is a relative measure of poverty, defined as the share of people with an equivalised disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 percent of the national median equivalised disposable income.
– Nearly one in four of those with disability are at risk of poverty. In comparison, only one in ten of the rest of the population are at risk of poverty, says Therese Sehlstedt, analyst at Statistics Sweden.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate is 26 percent among those with disability and reduced ability to work, while the rate is 18 percent among those with disability without reduced ability to work. There is no significant difference between women and men.
At-risk-poverty-rate among people with disability, with or without reduced ability to work and the rest of the population
Employment rate is lower among people with disability
Approximately 409 000 individuals (16–65-year-olds) with disability are employed. The employment rate is lower among people with disability than in the rest of the population. Among people with disability, the employment rate is 52 percent. In the rest of the population, the employment rate is 81 percent.
There are differences among those with disability that are employed and those with disability that are unemployed. Among the unemployed, 78 percent have reduced ability to work, compared to 64 percent among those that are employed. The unemployed are more likely to report having a greatly reduced ability to work (46 percent). The employed on the other hand, are more likely to report not having a reduced ability to work, 36 percent of them say this. Among the unemployed, 22 percent say that their ability to work is not reduced.
People with disability and their ability to work
Support and adaptation measures
Approximately 80 percent of employed people with disability and reduced ability to work need at least one support and adaptation measure. The most common needs are the need for adapted work pace (48 percent), adapted tasks (41 percent) and adapted working hours (40 percent). Needing personalized aids is also relatively common, 28 percent report that they need them. Less common is the need for adapted work premises or a personal assistant in the workplace. It is more common for women than for men to need adapted working hours and special adaption of work premises. Otherwise, there are no significant differences between men and women.
Among those with disability and reduced ability to work who are unemployed, two thirds (66 percent) believe that they would be able to work if they received some sort of support or adaptation. This applies in particular to young people, as nine in ten aged 16–29 have reported this.
Employed people with disability and reduced ability to work in need of different types of support and adaptation measures
Definitions and explanations
The government has tasked Statistics Sweden (SCB) with conducting a survey on the labour market situation for people with disability. It is carried out directly after Statistic Sweden’s Labour Force Surveys (LFS).
The survey covers people aged 16–65 who are registered in Sweden and live in private households. The survey is conducted by asking a question about disability directly after the LFS. People who indicate that they have disability are asked whether their disability reduces their ability to work. Those who have a reduced ability to work are also asked questions about whether they have a need for support or adaptation to be able to work, as well as (for those who are employed) whether they have received it.
The question asked to identify the group of people with disability is as follows: "Do you have any disability? This can be, for example, a physical, psychological, cognitive, intellectual, or neuropsychiatric disability."
The results for employment and unemployment in the total population presented in this report differ from the official LFS statistics since the sample for this survey is limited to the age group 16-65 and the estimation procedure is different from the LFS.