VETERAN UNEMPLOYMENT REPORTGeneral Summary
The BLS CPS report states there were 21,384,000 veterans alive in July, down from 21,412,000 in June, a loss of 28,000 veterans in July. This continues the trend of the shrinking veteran population due in large part to having an all-volunteer force since 1972 and not having a military draft. There were nearly sixty million veterans alive at the end of the Vietnam War. America has lost two thirds of the veterans in the last 41 years.
There were 10,923,000 veterans in the workforce in July, a decline of 27,000 from the 10,950,000 in June.
The CPS overall veteran unemployment rate for all veterans in July rose marginally to 6.4%. The rate in June was 6.3%. This is an increase of 0.1%. There were 702,000 unemployed veterans in June, up 15,000 from the 687,000 unemployed veterans in June.
The fact that the veteran unemployment rate remains lower than the non-veteran unemployment rate continues to be good news. The above information continues a positive trend for veterans. As the veteran unemployment rate remains lower than the non-veteran unemployment rate again reinforces the fact that veterans as a class continue to have better success finding employment than non-veterans!
Younger Veterans
An area where there has been a veteran unemployment issue over the last six years since the current call up policy was implemented on January 11, 2007 has been in the 18 to 24 year old group and the 25 to 29 year old group which make up a large part of the National Guard and Reserve (NG&R). The news for younger veterans continues to be mixed.
The unemployment rate for the 18 to 24 year old veterans in July fell to 17.4% (28,000) from 20.5% (34,000) in June. There are 34,000 18 to 24 year old veterans not in the labor force who are probably in school or technical training programs or may be disabled.
The unemployment rate for the 25 to 29 year old veterans in July rose to 12.3% (68,000) from June’s 10.0% (53,000). This reverses the trend of the 25 to 29 year old veterans who had been having a falling unemployment rate.
For comparison, the CPS overall unemployment rate for all 18 to 24 year olds (veterans and nonveterans) in July was 14.2% (2,938,000), down from the June rate of 16.3% (3,397,000). The unemployment rate for all 25 to 29 year olds in July was 8.4% (1,416,000), up from the June rate of 8.1% (1,363,000),
The fact that veterans are having better success at finding jobs than their civilian counterparts is good, but there are veterans who are having problems for a variety of reasons.
Older Veterans
Of the 702,000 unemployed veterans in July, 675,000 were over the age of 25. This is an increase of 24,000 from the 651,000 in June. The unemployment rates for the older veteran groups are as follows:
July June
30 to 34 year olds 3.1% (25,000) 5.4% (112,000
35 to 39 year olds 7.5% (65,000) 4.5% (39,000)
40 to 44 year olds 5.6% (68,000) 6.0% (73,000)
45 to 49 year olds 4.3% (59,000) 5.0% (66,000)
50 to 54 year olds 7.0% (104,000) 7.4% (107,000)
55 to 59 year olds 7.1% (97,000) 7.1% (102,000)
60 to 64 year olds 6.5% (81,000) 4.8% (61,000)
65 year olds and over 5.8% (109,000) 6.8% (128,000Like last month, these numbers indicate the emphasis for helping veterans with employment may need to add emphasis to the older veterans, especially those in their 50s and older as they now have higher unemployment numbers.
The publicity of younger veterans having problems promoted by the White House, the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), veteran service organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion (Legion), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Student Veterans of America (SVA) and veteran employment sites like VetJobs (www.vetjobs.com) has been very successful. Now the same attention needs to be directed towards older veterans.
Women Veterans
The unemployment rate for women veterans in July dropped to 6.6% (92,000) from June’s 7.6% (107,000). This is a decrease of 1.0% (15,000). This is good as the unemployment rate for women veterans had been climbing. In comparison, the unemployment rate for all women (veteran and non-veteran) in July was 7.3% (5,263,000), down from the June rate of 7.4% (5,370,000).
The unemployment rate for 18 to 24 year old women veterans in July was 8.3% (3,000) down from the June rate of was 9.0% (4,000). This was a decrease of 0.7% (1,000). In contrast, the unemployment rate for all 18 to 24 women (veteran and non-veteran) in July was 12.6% (1,241,000), down from the June rate of 14.6% (1,453,000).
Gulf War II Veterans
The unemployment rate for Gulf War II era veterans in July was 7.7% (166,000), up from the June rate of 7.2% (160,000), an increase of 0.5% (6,000). This reverses the downward trend in unemployment for the Gulf War II veterans.
Black Veterans
The unemployment rate for Black veterans in July dropped to 7.2% (102,000), down from the June rate of 10.3% (154,000). In contrast, the unemployment rate for all Blacks in July was 12.6% (2,329,000) which represents a decrease from the June rate of 13.7%, (2,549,000). These numbers lend credence to the benefits of minorities having joined the military!
Asian Veterans
The unemployment rate for Asian veterans in July was 5.1% (8,000), an increase from the June rate which was 4.2% (7,000). The Asian veteran unemployment rate had been steadily moving downwards before this increase. In contrast, the unemployment rate for all Asians is 5.4% (458,000).
Hispanic Veterans
The unemployment rate for Hispanic veterans in July was 7.3% (62,000), a marginal increase from the June rate which was 7.2% (67,000). In comparison, the unemployment rate for all Hispanics (veteran and non-veteran) in July was 8.9% (2,181,000), an increase from the June rate of 8.7% (2,144,000).