The differential earnings and income effects of involuntary job loss on workers with disabilities

People with disabilities, both in Sweden and elsewhere, are consistently found to face considerable difficulties on the labour market. In this study we have investigated the differential impact of involuntary job loss, on earnings and income, if being disabled. Our main findings are that earnings of those with and without disabilities began to diverge already several years prior to job loss because of a much larger incidence of longer periods of absence due to either sickness or rehabilitation. The seemingly permanent earnings differential following job loss seems to have been a consequence of much more of the job losers with disabilities not returning to employment but instead becoming disability retirees. Although the earnings differential experienced by the job seekers with disabilities was considerable during the post-job loss period, a majority of the difference was replaced by public social insurances.