American Community Survey: earnings and employment for persons with traumatic brain injury

In 2000, the United States Census Bureau began the annual American Community Survey (ACS), which collects data on earnings and employment for persons with various types of impairment. One of the impairments is cognitive disability, defined as existing when a person has a condition lasting six months or more that results in difficulty learning, remembering, or concentrating. Individuals with such limitations are often defined as having mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Persons with mild TBI often retain the ability to work competitively. Such individuals, however, typically earn less when employed year-round, full-time than do persons without disability and have lower levels of employment, resulting in reduced worklife expectancy. This article focuses on the effects of cognitive disability on earnings and employment. The ACS data are reported by gender and education level for those without disability or with cognitive disability. Employment levels are translated into worklife expectancies and the method of conversion through use of a joint probability of life, participation, and employment is examined.