Report: Long-term Unemployment Worsens For Vets

Army Times  A Gannett Company
By Rick Maze -- Staff writer

Thursday Nov. 3, 2011 –– For veterans of all ages, long-term unemployment has become a serious problem, according to a new Labor Department report.

For Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans, whose unemployment rate averaged 11.5 percent last year, 36 percent were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer, according to the Nov. 3 report.

Veterans of other eras were less likely to be unemployed, but those who lost their jobs faced a much longer search. For veterans 65 and older trying to re-enter the workforce after losing a job, 53 percent were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. The median duration of unemployment for these older veterans was 31 weeks, the report said.

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Jobs Bill By Veterans Day Looks Unlikely

Nov. 2, 2011 -- Long-term unemployment is also slightly worse for veterans than non-veterans, the report said, with veterans having a median duration of 24 weeks of unemployment, one more than for non-veterans.

Education may be part of the problem. Among men age 25 and older, veterans are less likely than non-veterans to have a college degree, according to the report.

Among veterans age 25 and older who separated from active duty since 1990, the unemployment rate for those with a four-year college degree or higher was 4.1 percent. For those with some college, the unemployment rate was 10 percent, and for those with no college, 11.5 percent, the report said.

In terms of wages, the report finds veterans do slightly better than non-veterans. The median annual income in 2010 for a male veteran is $35,725, compared with $30,822 for male non-veteran.

Age, however, is a factor. The median age range for male veterans is 55 to 64, generally years of high earnings, while the median age range for male non-veterans in the workforce is 35 to 44. Among women, whose median age range in the workforce is 45 to 54 for both veterans and non-veterans, veterans earn considerably more. The report said female veterans had a median annual income of $30,540 in 2010, compared with $20,634 for non-veterans.