Disabled face obstacles.(employment obstacles)(Brief Article)

Despite the healthy economy, they often have difficulty finding work

The Tampa Bay area's labor market is the tightest on record, with employers considering almost anyone who can breathe to fill job openings.

But among all the pierced teen-agers, kindly grandmothers and ex-welfare recipients being considered by human resource directors as new hires, there may be one important segment of the work force overlooked -- the disabled.

About one in every six Florida residents has a disability, and although thousands are employed they represent only one-third of the disabled labor pool.

"It's not because they don't want to work"' said Cindy Stephens, who is chairwoman of the employment committee of the Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in Tampa.

Stephens offered statistics …