Between 1984 and 2001 , the US Government made it easier to get payment for disability and the number of disabled people rose from 3.8 million to 7.7 million Most of the people who try to qualify for disability payments have a tough time finding a job and spend a lot of time " out of work and actively searching for work Once people start receiving disability payments , however , they rarely work again and continue to get the payments for decades . What effect did reducing requirements to get disability have on the unemployment rate