Despite positive signs for the job market generally, Americans with disabilities continue to face great difficulty finding work, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities ticked up to 15.4 percent in February. That’s a climb from 13.6 percent the month prior.

The rise in unemployment comes even as the number of people with disabilities who were seeking work declined.

At the same time the job market showed signs of improvement for the rest of the population, with unemployment declining slightly from 9 percent to 8.9 percent in February as the economy added 192,000 jobs.

The Department of Labor began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. There is not yet enough data compiled to establish seasonal trends among this population, so statistics for this group are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on people with disabilities covers those over the age of 16 who do not live in institutions. The first employment report specific to this population was made available in February 2009. Now, reports are released monthly.

Read more stories like this one. Sign up for Disability Scoop's free email newsletter to get the latest developmental disability news sent straight to your inbox.