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Individuals <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> in the U.S. According to ACS summary table data used in this section, 12.1 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population (37,188,115 individuals) had a disability in 2011. Individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities accounted for 5.9 percent of the civilian labor force 16 years of age and older in 2011. In this section, a general demographic description of the population of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities in the U.S. is provided as a context for a discussion of the population of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities in <strong>Texas</strong> in the following section. Population Trends for Individuals <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> in the U.S. Illustrating change over time in the number of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities in the U.S. is difficult. Because surveys use dissimilar questions to define disabilities, comparing the numbers of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities between different surveys would be misleading. Even comparing the results of the same survey at two different time periods is complicated since some surveys have revised their disability questions and administered the questions to different age groups. For example, the 1990 census asked individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 about work disabilities, mobility limitations, and self‐care limitations, whereas the 2000 census asked individuals age five and older about work disabilities and sensory, physical, mental, self‐care, and ambulatory difficulties. Additionally, no questions about disabilities were asked on the 2010 census since the long form was replaced by the ACS. Results from the 2008 to 2011 ACS presented in Figure 1 indicate that while the numbers of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities have been increasing since 2008, the percentages of individuals <strong>with</strong> disabilities have consistently comprised approximately 12 percent of the total civilian noninstitutionalized population. Figure 1: Number of Individuals <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> in U.S. and Percentage of Population, 2008–2011 37,400,000 37,200,000 37,000,000 36,800,000 36,600,000 36,400,000 36,200,000 36,000,000 35,800,000 35,600,000 35,400,000 12.1% 12.0% 11.9% 12.1% 2008 2009 2010 2011 Figure notes: Data are from ACS summary tables. Percentages represent the portion of the total civilian noninstitutionalized population <strong>with</strong> disabilities. <strong>Texas</strong> Workforce Investment Council 7