Allsup, a provider of Social Security Disability Insurance representation and Medicare plan selection, recently conducted a study which found that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities, after steady increases over the last four quarters, fell in the last quarter of 2011 to the lowest rate since the fourth quarter of 2008.

That is certainly good news, but the study also found that those with disabilities still experience an unemployment rate over 60 percent higher than that of people without disabilities in the fourth quarter of 2011.

In particular, the study found that the unemployment rate for those with disabilities averaged at 13.2 percent, whereas that number averaged at 8.1 percent for those without disabilities during the same time. Those numbers were up from the third quarter of 2011, when disabled individuals had an average unemployment rate of 16.3 percent, compared to the 8.8 percent for those without disabilities.

During the fourth quarter of 2011, 660,712 individuals with disabilities applied for Social Security disability, which was 76,756 less than the previous quarter. The overall number of applicants in 2011 was roughly 60,000 less than 2010.

The study points to the challenges people with disabilities continue to face in securing employment. These are the individuals who depend on Social Security disability benefits he most. The benefits do not make one rich, but they are essential for helping these people secure their financial future.

Unfortunately, many people who need benefits are required wait too long to receive them or end up being denied disability benefits.

Source: MarketwWatch, "Income at Risk: Unemployment Rate Drops Significantly for People With Disabilities, Allsup Finds," January 18, 2012.