The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on April 5th that the employment added 916,000 in March, and the trend of unemployment edged down to 6.0%. Industries like leisure and hospitality, public and private education, and construction witnessed the most gains.[1] Unemployment rates for veterans decreased and now stand at 5.0%. Unemployment rates among Post-9/11 (ages 18-34) saw some small gains with rates going from 5.9% to 6.1% in March. 17% of the 452,000 18 to 21-year-old veterans have been unemployed for less than five weeks and 83% percent have been unemployed for more than five weeks. The March report said the average length of unemployment is 31.7 weeks and the average (median) is 19.5 weeks. This unemployment report offered some a mixed bag depending on the veteran demographic group.
Among 18 to 24-year-old post-9/11 veterans, the unemployment rate increased from 7.5% to 15.1% in March. The unemployment rate for 25 to 34 post-9/11 veterans increased from 6.0% to 8.0% in March. During this period, post-9/11 veterans were unemployed at a higher rate than their nonveterans their same age.
Unemployment among Post-9/11 women veterans was reported to decrease from 9.0% to 3.8% in March. The unemployment rate all veteran women is 2.9%. Women overall have a higher unemployment rate of 5.7%. Veteran unemployment rates for men went from 5.4% to 5.3%. The post-9/11 veteran men unemployment rate increased from 5.4% to 6.5% in March.
The unemployment rate for black post-9/11 veterans is 5.0%. This rate is lower than the 10% unemployment rate for black nonveterans. Post 9/11 Hispanic, Latino/a, or Spanish Origin veterans have an unemployment rate of 6.2%. This rate is lower than the 8.1% unemployment rate of Hispanic, Latino/a, or Spanish Origin nonveterans. Reported data on specific veteran subgroups can vary widely from month to month.
Discover more about the employment situation for veterans.