The five areas in Great Britain where disabled people are least likely to be in employment compared with non-disabled people have been revealed in a new report from the University of Sheffield.

The five areas in Great Britain where disabled people are least likely to be in employment compared with non-disabled people have been revealed in a new report from the University of Sheffield.

Researchers from the University’s School of Economics investigating the gap in employment between disabled and non-disabled people – known as the Disability Employment Gap (DEG) – looked at the geographic variation.

They identified North Lanarkshire, followed by East Ayrshire & North Ayrshire mainland, Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot, Dumfries & Galloway and Durham as the areas with the biggest DEG, where disabled people will find it hardest to be in work compared with their non-disabled counterparts.

Meanwhile Buckinghamshire was found to be the area with some of the best employment prospects for disabled people and had the lowest DEG.

The UK is one of the most spatially unequal countries in the developed world. Many parts of the country are thriving economically, particularly in the south of England, but other areas have become ‘left behind’. Strategies to deliver the government’s growth mission locally and devolve powers aim to address these spatial disparities and share prosperity more evenly across the country.

The study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found disabled people are particularly disadvantaged when living in a ‘left behind’ area and have the most to gain from areas becoming more even.

With UK Disability History Month currently taking place (November 18 – December 20) – and this year’s theme ‘Disability Livelihood and Employment’ – the report’s authors have made some key recommendations to help close the gap.

“We have found that disabled people may have more to lose from living in a left behind area; they experience a particularly large variation in their employment prospects depending on the local economy where they live,” said Dr Mark Bryan, lead investigator on the project.

“This may be due to finding themselves at the back of the ‘job queue’ – the last to be recruited when there are not enough jobs to go round.”

Findings of the report showed areas with a high concentration of people working in knowledge industries including IT, finance, professional services and education, and areas with a high concentration of people working in elementary occupations, for example, cleaning and hospitality, tend to have the lowest DEGs.

In contrast, local differences in healthcare provision, social institutions and policies towards the employment of disabled people have very little correlation with the DEG.

“Our research shows how attracting high-value investment has the potential to improve the employment prospects of disabled people living in left behind areas and hence reduce geographical disparities in the DEG,” added Dr Bryan.

“Strong local labour markets characterised by low unemployment and a thriving knowledge sector, coupled with good availability of elementary jobs, can disproportionately improve the employment prospects of disabled people and narrow the DEG.

“However, investment is not a magic bullet. We find that, even if all areas of Great Britain had the same characteristics, there would still be considerable variation in the DEG. This indicates that there is scope for bespoke area interventions, such as work, health and skills plans, to address specific barriers to disabled people’s ability to access employment at a local level.”

Dr Catherine Dennison, Programme Head, Welfare, at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “We welcome the team’s systematic analysis of why the employment rate for disabled people remains significantly lower than that of non-disabled people, including important regional differences. We encourage national and local governments to work together to improve employment prospects for disabled people, ensuring that support is effectively tailored to address barriers in local areas.”

Full details of the geographical analysis can be found in a working paper available here. The full project report, including additional analysis of the role of education in the DEG and trends in the DEG over 2014-22, is available here.