Veteran unemployment approaches 8-year low

Veteran Unemployment

The veteran unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2008 in October, according to the Department of Defense.

Labor Department figures showed that the veteran unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, and the nonveteran unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. The unemployment rate for veterans has been lower than that of nonveterans for 23 weeks in a row.

Head of the Transition to Veterans Program Office at the DoD Susan S. Kelly attributed the falling rate to the improved national economic climate and to public and private sector initiatives to hire veterans.

One such initiative included the Hire 500,000 Heroes campaign, begun by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Los Angeles Times reported. The program exceeded its goal and spurred 2,000 businesses across the country to promise to hire at least 200,000 more veterans or their spouses.

Veteran advocates say there is still much work to be done.

“Until every veteran who wants a job is hired, our work is not done,” head of military and veteran affairs at J.P. Morgan Chase Ross Brown said in an email to the LA Times.