February data from the Social Security Administration reveals a remarkably low number (59,569) of new recipients awarded Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. It’s the first month since December 2008 that fewer than 60,000 people with disabilities were awarded benefits through the SSDI program. The last time monthly recipients routinely fell under 60,000 was during the 2000-01 time period. The graph below further illustrates the downward trend in award volumes since 2010.
