Jobless Ohioans try for disability

Many scramble for help when unemployment benefits run out.

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By Randy Tucker, Staff Writer Updated 1:34 PM Tuesday, January 3, 2012

DAYTON — Applications for Social Security disability benefits in Ohio remained elevated in 2011 as jobless workers exhausted unemployment insurance payments.

After the Great Recession began in 2007, applications for government disability in Ohio rose more than 23 percent to a peak of 144,500 in 2010, according to government figures. The 2011 number was slightly lower, but the 135,947 applications received were still up 16 percent over 2007.

Nationwide, Social Security disability applications reached an all-time high of 2.82 million in 2009, or more than 30 percent higher than the number received in 2007, according to the Social Security Administration.

Some likely were from displaced workers who qualify for government disability though they would prefer to work if they still had a job, said Theresa Busher, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration’s Dayton Office.

“It can be very difficult for disabled workers to find new employment,” Busher said.

The surge in applications also could be attributed to prolonged unemployment and expiring benefits, which drove many jobless workers to take a shot at qualifying for disability even if they were relatively healthy.

“These people are discouraged, and they may have stopped looking for work because they feel like they can’t find a job,” said John Challenger, of the international placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“They’re looking for other ways to try to bring in income.’’

A report last month from the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers showed a direct correlation between the loss of unemployment insurance benefits and increased applications for government disability benefits.

The report showed unemployed workers between the ages of 50 and 65 who couldn’t come up with $5,000 in an emergency were nearly 10 times more likely to apply for Social Security disability after their unemployment benefits ran out than when they first started collecting benefits.

A separate study, sponsored by the Social Security Administration and conducted by Boston College researcher Matthew Rutledge, found acceptance rates declined as disability applications rose. That might be an indication that many applications were from desperate but able-bodied workers seeking a financial lifeline.

Still, more applications are being approved now than ever before, resulting in a serious strain on the social security disability insurance trust fund, which is expected to run out of money in 2018, according to the report.

Challenger noted that more than 70 percent of jobless workers were collecting unemployment two years ago, compared to just over half now.

And with the average duration of unemployment now at more than 10 months, the rate at which the unemployed exhaust their insurance benefits will continue to accelerate, he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or rtucker@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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