Paid employment amongst adults with learning disabilities receiving social care in England: trends over time and geographical variation

The purpose of this paper is to examine trends over time and geographical variation in rates of paid employment amongst working age adults with learning disabilities receiving long-term social care in England.

Data were drawn from NHS Digital adult social care statistics examining paid/self-employment for working age (18-64 years) adults with learning disabilities known to social care (2008/2009 to 2013/2014) or receiving long-term social care (2014/2015 to 2016/2017).

In 2016/2017, councils reported that 5.7 per cent of working age adults (7,422 people) with learning disabilities receiving long-term social care were in paid/self-employment, with higher employment rates for men than women and most people working less than 16 hours per week. Paid employment rates seem to be slightly declining over time, and there is wide variation across councils in reported paid/self-employment rates.

Despite good evidence for the cost effectiveness of supported employment support, employment rates for adults with learning disabilities receiving long-term social care remain extremely low.

This paper presents in one place statistics concerning the paid employment of working age adults with learning disabilities in England.