In December 1968, 1,295,428 Americans collected disability and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 65,630,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were about 51 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability at that time. In January 1997, the last time the number of disability beneficiaries declined, 4,385,374 Americans collected disability and 104,900,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were then about 24 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability.
In March 2013, with a record 8,853,614 Americans collecting disability and 115,841,000 working fulltime, there were only 13 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability.