While the American public is concerned about its 9-percent unemployment rate, a certain subset of the population is especially worried: our veterans.
The post-9/11 veteran unemployment rate is 13.3 percent and ranges as high as 30 percent in certain states. Additionally, with the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House estimates that 1 million vets will be entering the civilian workforce over the next four years.
We spoke with a retired Army General and the economic director at the American Legion about the president’s announcement this month of new business incentives to hire vets. And a Maryland-area veteran shared with us the difficulties he’s experienced in his job search since returning from Afghanistan in 2007.