Examining employment outcomes of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in The Netherlands using non-public microdata

Background
It is internationally recognized that people with disabilities have an equal right to work as people without disabilities. This includes deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) people. Previous studies, primarily conducted in the US, showed discrepancies between employment outcomes of DHH people and typically hearing people.

Objective
There is still a lack of knowledge about the current employment status of DHH people in the Netherlands. Furthermore, additional job characteristics such as income sources and sectors of employment are yet to be examined. This paper aims to address this lack of knowledge.MethodsThis study used non-public microdata to examine employment outcomes of DHH people who claimed sensory disability care in the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019 (n = 5609) and compare them to a matched Dutch population (MDP) (n = 5609).

Results
Despite small differences in employment participation, DHH claimants are more likely to have an income from sick leave/disability pension, other social benefits, and retirement compared to the MDP. DHH claimants also have lower average hourly wages, work fewer hours per week, work in different employment sectors, and stay in their first job longer compared to the MDP.

Conclusions
The results of this study show that there are labor force differences between DHH claimants and the MDP. Further steps must be taken to identify the causes of these differences and develop policies and interventions to address these when deemed necessary.