‘Huge gap’ in employment rate between disabled and non-disabled people

March 7, 2026

Chief executive for Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People, Paula Tesoriero, says the numbers are compelling.

What happens if people with disabilities had the same employment rate as non-disabled people?

A recently published report by Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that if that were the case, the country could gain $578 million in GDP.

“The numbers themselves are compelling,” Whaikaha chief executive Paula Tesoriero said.

Currently 26.8% of disabled people are in the workforce, compared to 72.9% for non-disabled people.

The unemployment rate sits at 12.6% for disabled people and 4.9% for non-disabled people.

That “huge gap” was the reason Whaikaha commissioned the report, Tesoriero said.

It was a continuation of research done in 2017 by NZIER around how the country’s economy could benefit if disabled people had better access to work and education.

“We really wanted more insight into what closing the gap will do,” Tesoriero said.

Tesoriero said you can’t put a dollar value on social connection.

“It would be great for productivity ... [but] this is also about real human beings and real people, who, if given the opportunity to work, it can open up so many social and economic benefits.”

She said you can’t put a “dollar value” on social connection.

A recent internship programme by Whaikaha saw 13 graduates with disabilities placed in 10 government agencies.

The biggest feedback they got from internship participants was that it gave them a “real sense of connection” from having workmates and the opportunity to participate in activities now that they had an income.

There were several barriers to employment for people with disabilities, including discrimination, lack of awareness, limited flexibility and inaccessible workplaces and systems.

Tesoriero said many of these barriers can be fixed quite easily.

It could be as simple as making adjustments to a workstation or looking at recruitment practices - “Is an interview the only way that you can assess a person’s performance?”

Closing the employment gap would also see people with disabilities’ spending power increase, which would allow them access to better housing and healthcare.

Outreach co-ordinator at The Buzz in Nelson Jane Linn, right, with work-skills co-ordinator Jana. Linn said all people with disabilities want to be is included and be treated like everyone else.

Outreach co-ordinator at The Buzz, a workplace skills programme for people with disabilities in Nelson, Jane Linn said often there is a lack of understanding about disability, even though one in six people in New Zealand is disabled.

“It takes quite a lot of time to break down some of those preconceived [ideas] and misconceptions people have about disabilities,” Linn said.

But things were “slowly changing”.

The Buzz worked mainly with people who have intellectual disabilities such as autism. They build relationships with businesses in Nelson Tasman so that young people with disabilities are not unknown to them.

And that personal relationship the organisation builds with local businesses is what helps break down barriers to employment, she said.

People with disabilities were a “value add” and they’ve had positive feedback from businesses who have employed someone with disabilities.

Often they go into employment feeling “10 feet tall ... They’re just like everyone else. All they want to be is included and be treated like everyone else”.

Having somewhere to go and being valued in the community directly builds their confidence, she said, which was often low because they’ve been led to believe they won’t be able to work.

People with disabilities are productive given the right environment, and Linn encouraged businesses to set high and clear expectations, instead of low expectations.

“I think businesses that we’ve worked with have been super impressed.”

Atawhai Trust in Taranaki played a direct role in creating paid work opportunities through their own enterprises and infrastructure, which included an arborist and horticulture operation.

General manager Rik Allen said involving people with “diverse capabilities” in work has massive flow on benefits not only for them but for their local community.

However, he wanted to be transparent about the current challenges they face securing external employment opportunities.

This included the perception that people with disabilities as need more supervision than businesses can provide, or businesses being hesitant to employ people with disabilities at minimum wage rates.

Businesses have the opportunity to apply for the Minimum Wage Exemption scheme, which allows employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage if their disability significantly limits their work performance.

Disability was part of the “human condition”, Tesoriero added.

For her, disabled people thriving in New Zealand would look like having people with disabilities in “all spaces and places”, and employed in a wide variety of sectors and industries.

That was their vision.