The unemployment rate for veterans in the U.S. is 2.7 percent. That is a level that is 1 percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate.
Much of this declining jobless trend can be attributed to the success of hiring, training, and education programs of businesses and the government.
Today, veterans account for 7 percent of the civilian population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so that’s good news for the overall economy. Granted, the tight labor market and demand for workers after the COVID-19 pandemic, have helped everyone seeking a job find one.
In the case of veterans, they have had some extra help from the U.S. military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and various veterans’ service organizations in preparing them to re-enter the U.S. labor force. In addition, American companies have launched initiatives of their own that have successfully hired hundreds of thousands of vets as well.
It wasn’t always this way.
Much of the impetus for this combined effort was triggered by the Great Recession and the dearth of jobs that were available to returning service members who were damaged and stressed out by their service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Credit goes to President Barack Obama, who established several service initiatives supported by a bipartisan Congress.
Today, among businesses veterans are seen as an exceptional class of Americans. Thanks to government programs that provide tax breaks, salary subsidies, and regulatory benefits the risk of hiring vets has been diminished substantially.
The gains in employment rates are good news for vets. Some readers might ask why these ex-members of an extremely capable fighting machine need all this extra help. This bleak batch of statistics concerning our nation’s heroes might give you a few reasons:
Since 9/11, four times as many U.S. service members have died by suicide as have died in combat. Of all adults who are experiencing homelessness, 13 percent are veterans, and PTSD impacts 15 out of every 100 veterans daily.
I can commiserate. Back in the day, my job search suffered after my return from Vietnam. Part of that difficulty derived from the blowback I received from employers who equated my service with an unpopular, controversial war. I also know what it means to suffer from PTSD.
I count myself lucky because I benefited from the help, I received from the psychology department of a local university I attended on the GI Bill. Still, many years later, while paddling up the Amazon River on vacation with my teenage daughter, I suffered constant flashbacks and nightmares in those jungles and afterward for days.
In any case, I can attest that many vets may feel isolated once they separate from their band of brothers. It is even worse for female veterans, who relied on sisterhood to navigate a male-dominated…
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