The number of Americans now on the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program topped 11 million in May, a record high and an increase of 18% since January 2009, according to new data from the Social Security Administration, furthering a trend that will have severe economic and budget consequences.
More than 5.2 million workers have enrolled since President Obama took office, and enrollment is climbing faster under Obama than at any other time in the program's history.
An average 81,000 workers joined the Social Security disability program each month during Obama's years. Under President Bush, monthly enrollment averaged 66,000, and the overall average since 1975 is 52,000.
While there is debate about the exact causes of the swelling ranks of workers on disability, it's clear that the sluggish economic recovery under Obama played an important role.
Disabled Recovery
The annual number of new SSDI enrollees skyrocketed in the years following the recession, topping one million in both 2010 and 2011.
While it has trended down since then as the recovery slowly took hold, last year's 884,894 enrollment figure is higher than almost every year prior to the recession.
"When jobs are plentiful, some people who could qualify for the DI program may choose instead to work," the Congressional Budget Office noted in a report on the program. But when jobs are scarce, many who could work "will instead choose to apply for DI benefits."
The overall labor-force participation rate has fallen to a 36-year low of 62.8%, as millions of people stop looking for work. (emphasis mine)Read the rest of the story HERE.
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1 comment:
Great blog! Did you know that 1.31 Million children receive Social Security benefits. Check out this article to read ( Interesting Facts About Social Security Disability
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