Resources: Did You Know?

Did You Know That...

• Nova Scotia has the highest rates of disabled persons in Canada, at 23%.
• Three per cent of Canadians with disabilities report being self-employed, compared to 14% of non-disabled Canadians.
• Ninety per cent of new job creation has been in the small business sector.
• Fifty-six per cent of this growth is in companies with fewer than five employees.
• Self employment is a desirable and necessary labor market and community strategy.
• Forty-nine per cent of Nova Scotians responded to a recent survey indicated they were self-employed, a higher percentage than the general population of Nova Scotians with disabilities (41%) and Canadians (48%) in general.
• Seventy-nine per cent of businesses are home based.
• Twenty-five per cent have sales in excess of $45,000.
• There are more than one million Canadians with disabilities who are not employed but want to work.
• Many access-related barriers exist for people with disabilities trying to start their own business.
• Although small business development training programs are generally available, they are frequently not accessible to persons with disabilities.
• Training programs are not flexible time-wise to meet the needs for physical or mental accommodations, which are often medication-related.
• Participation fees for training programs tend to be prohibitive for those with disabilities and often the variety of adult learning styles is not taken into consideration for example the hearing or visually impaired.