March 26, 2017 - The unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time since September 2001--a group referred to as Gulf War-era II
veterans-- edged down to 5.1 percent in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. The jobless rate for all veterans also edged down over the year to 4.3 percent. About 36 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans had a service-connected disability in August 2016, compared with 22 percent of all veterans.This information was obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides data on employment and unemployment in the United States. Data about veterans are collected monthly in the CPS; these monthly data are the source of the 2016 annual averages presented in this news release. In August 2016, a supplement to the CPS collected additional information about veterans on topics such as service-connected disability and veterans' current or past Reserve or National Guard membership. Information from the supplement is also presented in this release. The supplement was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and by the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. For more information, see the Technical Note, which provides definitions of terms used in this release.
Highlights from the 2016 data:
--The unemployment rate for male veterans overall was not statistically different from the rate for female veterans in 2016. The unemployment rate for male veterans (4.2 percent) edged down over the year, and the rate for female veterans (5.0 percent) changed little.
--Among the 453,000 unemployed veterans in 2016, 60 percent were age 45 and over, 36 percent were age 25 to 44, and 4 percent were age 18 to 24.
--Veterans with a service-connected disability had an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent in August 2016, about the same as veterans with no disability (4.7 percent).
--Nearly 1 in 3 employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector in August 2016, compared with about 1 in 5 veterans with no disability.
--In 2016, the unemployment rate of veterans varied across the country, ranging from 1.8 percent in Indiana to 7.6 percent in the District of Columbia.
The Veteran Population
In 2016, 20.9 million men and women were veterans, accounting for about 9 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population age 18 and over. About 10 percent of all veterans were women. In the survey, veterans are defined as men and women who have previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and who were civilians at the time these data were collected. Veterans are more likely to be men than nonveterans and also tend to be older. In part, this reflects the characteristics of veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era, all of whom are now over 55 years old. Veterans who served during these wartime periods accounted for 41 percent (8.5 million) of the total veteran population in 2016. Just over one-third of veterans (7.3 million) served during Gulf War era I (August 1990 to August 2001) or Gulf War era II (September 2001 forward). Another quarter (5.2 million) served outside the designated wartime periods.
Gulf War-era II Veterans
In 2016, there were 3.9 million veterans who had served during Gulf War era II (September 2001 forward). Eighteen percent of these veterans were women, compared with about 4 percent of veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. Seventy-one percent of all Gulf War-era II veterans were between the ages of 25 and 44.
Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for men was not statistically different from the rate for women in 2016. The unemployment rates for both men (5.0 percent) and women (5.6 percent) were little changed from the prior year.
The unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era II veterans (5.0 percent) was little different than the rate for male nonveterans (4.8 percent) in 2016. Among men age 25 to 34, Gulf War-era II veterans had a higher unemployment rate (6.6 percent) than did nonveterans (4.9 percent). For the other age groups, unemployment rates of male Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans were not statistically different.
Among women, the unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans (5.6 percent) was not statistically different from the rate for nonveterans (4.6 percent) in 2016. By age, unemployment rates for female Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans were not statistically different.
Employed Gulf War-era II veterans were about twice as likely to work in the public sector in 2016 as employed nonveterans--28 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Among the employed, 16 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans worked for the federal government, compared with 2 percent of nonveterans.
In August 2016, 48 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, or both locations. These veterans had an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, not statistically different from Gulf War-era II veterans who served elsewhere (6.0 percent).
Gulf War-era I Veterans
Of the 3.4 million veterans who served during Gulf War era I (August 1990 to August 2001), 15 percent were women. Nearly all (98 percent) Gulf War-era I veterans were age 35 and over in 2016, compared with half of Gulf War-era II veterans.
In 2016, the unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era I veterans was 3.5 percent, lower than the rate for their Gulf War-era II veteran counterparts (5.0 percent). The difference in the unemployment rates reflects, at least in part, the older age profile of veterans who served during Gulf War era I. Younger people--whether veterans or nonveterans--tend to have higher unemployment rates. Among women, the rates for Gulf War-era I veterans (4.2 percent) and Gulf War-era II veterans (5.6 percent) were not statistically different.
Veterans of Other Service Periods
In 2016, 5.2 million veterans had served on active duty during "other service periods," mainly between the Korean War and the Vietnam era and between the Vietnam era and Gulf War era I. All veterans from this period of service were 40 years or older at the time of the survey. Twenty-six percent of these veterans were age 45 to 54 in 2016, another 34 percent were age 55 to 64, and another 39 percent were age 65 and over.
In 2016, 1 in 10 veterans of other service periods were women. Among veterans of other service periods, the unemployment rate for men was 4.1 percent, little different than the rate for women (4.9 percent).
Veterans with a Service-connected Disability
In August 2016, about 4.6 million veterans, or 22 percent of the total, had a service- connected disability. Veterans with a service-connected disability are assigned a disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense. Ratings range from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage points, depending on the severity of the condition.
The unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability was 4.8 percent in August 2016, about the same as veterans with no disability (4.7 percent). The labor force participation rate for veterans with a service-connected disability (46.4 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans with no disability (50.7 percent).
Among veterans with a service-connected disability, 30 percent had a disability rating of less than 30 percent, while another 37 percent had a rating of 60 percent or higher. In August 2016, veterans with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent were much more likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating of 60 percent or higher (54.7 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 4.4 percent, not statistically different than for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher (3.8 percent).
Among veterans who served during Gulf War era II, 36 percent (1.4 million) had a service-connected disability. Of these, 76.0 percent were in the labor force in August 2016, lower than the 86.6 percent for veterans from this period with no service- connected disability. Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for those with a service-connected disability was 5.4 percent, little different from those with no disability (5.7 percent).
In August 2016, about a quarter (901,000) of veterans who served during Gulf War era I had a service-connected disability. Their labor force participation rate (64.0 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans from the era who did not have a disability (86.7 percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans with a service-connected disability (5.3 percent) was not statistically different than that for Gulf War-era I veterans without a service-connected disability (4.2 percent).
Among the 1.6 million veterans with a service-connected disability from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era, 14.1 percent were in the labor force in August 2016 , lower than the 25.3 percent of veterans from these periods who did not have a service-connected disability. The unemployment rate of veterans with a disability from these wartime periods was 3.7 percent, about the same as their counterparts with no disability (3.8 percent).
About 669,000 or 13 percent of veterans who served during other service periods reported a service-connected disability in August 2016. The labor force participation rate for these veterans (37.8 percent) was lower than their counterparts without a service-connected disability (50.3 percent), while the unemployment rate was not statistically different for veterans with a service-connected disability (2.0 percent) and those with no disability (4.8 percent).
Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector. In August 2016, 31 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 19 percent of veterans with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. In particular, 20 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked for the federal government, compared with 7 percent of veterans with no disability and 2 percent of nonveterans.
Reserve and National Guard Membership
In August 2016, about one-third of Gulf War-era veterans (August 1990 to present) were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard. Labor force participation rates were higher for veterans who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard (83.6 percent), compared with veterans who were never members (80.6 percent). Among Gulf War-era veterans, those who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard had an unemployment rate (4.0 percent) that was not statistically different than those who had never been members (5.6 percent).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
