Only 4.2% Of Romanians With Disabilities Have Job - Study

The report conducted by the "Pentru Voi" ("For You") foundation and the Institute for Public Policies also shows that Romania is ranked last but one in the EU regarding the sums allotted for social services supporting people with disabilities.

The report says that four years after the adoption of normative acts easing the integration of people with disabilities on the labor market, Romania and Bulgaria are at the bottom of the EU ranking.

Only 4.2% of Romanians with disabilities had a job in March 31, 2010, compared to 50% in the EU, reads the research.

According to data released by the National Authority for People with Disabilities, of the 681,558 people with disabilities in Romania, only 28,826 had a job. Regarding people with intellectual disabilities, the situation is "catastrophic," as less than 1% of people with intellectual deficits, namely 977, have a job, shows the report.

Of the total number of people with disabilities that have a job, only 3% are people with intellectual deficits and 5% have mental disabilities. Some 1,470 work in protected units, created to encourage the employment of people with disabilities.

Only 0.28% people with disabilities work in central institutions - most of them in the Transport Ministry (1.274%) and the Senate (1.168%).

On the other hand, the Environment Ministry, the Regional Development Ministry and the Labor Ministry have no employees with disabilities.

According to the report, local authorities hired mainly people with physical disabilities (44%) and somatic disabilities (40%), but employed no individuals with mental disabilities, infected with HIV or suffering from other rare diseases.

Romania allots about 12.5% of the gross domestic product for social assistance and is ranked last but two in EU regarding this issue. France allots 30% of its GDP for social assistance, said "Pentru voi" foundation director Laila Onu.

The report was conducted within the "Stop ignoring people with intellectual disabilities!" project financed by Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe.

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