Vocational Rehabilitative Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 4,000 vocational rehabilitative services providers offer job counseling, job training, and work experience to unemployed and underemployed persons, persons with disabilities, and persons who have a job market disadvantage because of lack of education, job skill, or experience. The industry includes job training facilities and sheltered workshops (which employ adults with physical or intellectual disabilities).
Dependence on Government Funding
The vocational rehabilitative (VR) services industry is highly dependent on a mix of federal and state government funding.
Heavy Caseloads
Heavy caseloads, particularly in urban centers, can compromise the quality of services, which affects job placement.
Industry size & Structure
The average vocational rehabilitative services provider employs about 70 workers and generates $4 million annually.
- The vocational rehabilitative services industry consists of about 4,000 firms that employ over 281,000 workers and generate about $16 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented with the top 50 companies accounting for about 30% of industry revenue.
- More than 70% of establishments are tax-exempt organizations.
- State agencies administer services and funding for vocational and rehabilitative services. Large non-profit organizations like Goodwill and Easter Seals also offer vocational rehabilitative services.
- In the US, 13% of civilians live with a disability, according to the Disability Statistics Compendium.
Industry Forecast
Vocational Rehabilitative Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 12, 2024 - Revenue Increases
- Vocational rehabilitation service industry revenue increased 4.6% year over year and 4.1% quarter over quarter during Q4 2023 to $4,538 million, according to the US Census Bureau. Vocational rehabilitative service sales are forecast to increase at a 4.88% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Community vocational rehabilitative service revenue typically comes from contracts with state vocational rehabilitation agencies, which authorize billable services. Fee-for-services contracts base payment on hourly, daily, half-day, or other unit-based rates. Vocational rehabilitative service industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- A $1.2 trillion federal funding package signed into law in 2024 includes more money for special education and disability employment. The spending plan features $14.2 billion in funding for state grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a $20 million increase over 2023. Vocational rehabilitation will see a $304 million increase, bringing the program to $4.25 billion. Home and community-based supportive services, state developmental disabilities councils, protection and advocacy agencies and many other programs that people with disabilities rely on will see level funding, which some disability advocates say is essentially a cut when inflation is factored.
- About 6,700 openings for rehabilitation counselors are projected each year over the decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment of rehabilitation counselors is projected to increase 2% annually from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, primarily through retirement.
- Guidance provided by the US Department of Education warns state vocational rehabilitation agencies that they need to provide more than minimal services in their efforts to help people with disabilities gain employment. Vocational rehabilitative services may benefit if the guidance results in more use of their services. The guidance outlines strategies that states can use to better promote their offerings and urges them to engage with individuals in a timely manner by simplifying the application process, expediting the determination of eligibility, and other efforts to eliminate barriers. There should also be policies to ensure a minimum level of communication with individuals with disabilities who are part of the vocational rehabilitation program to ensure that issues and challenges can be addressed as needed and that job placements are on track, the guidance notes.
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