War veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan struggle to find jobs despite nationwide unemployment reaching a 50-year low last month.
The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans rose from 3.9% to 4.5% over the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making them the only group of veterans to see a rise in unemployment. Veteran unemployment as a whole dropped from 3.4% to 3.1% during the same time period.
“The biggest reason is that transition out of the military is included in the younger veteran unemployment numbers,” Eli Williamson, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and co-founder of Leave No Veteran Behind, told the Washington Examiner.
“Transition is a very hard process that veterans infrequently get right on the first attempt,” Williamson said. “More often, veterans turn over in that first job out of the military because it’s not a good fit or not enough to support their family. There’s a natural learning curve as service members transition and older veterans have more experience.”
Lack of planning plays a large factor, said Joe Karle, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.
“From what I’ve seen [from] guys that get out and are unemployed, it’s usually because they don’t have any plans,” Karle told the Washington Examiner. “They take like a year off, kind of like some college kids do. That really sets them up for failure.”
Younger veterans using GI Bill tuition assistance may also account for the unemployment statistics.
“Vets who are full-time students are classified as not in the labor force because they are not currently available for work,” Williamson said.
Workforce participation among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans dropped from 81.4% to 80.3% in 2018, according to the labor bureau. The veteran workforce participation rate as a whole dropped from 49.6% to 49.2%.
The Department of Defense has attempted to improve the transition from military to civilian life with various assistance programs and counseling. Some major companies have formed programs to assist in veteran employment, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched its Hire Our Heroes initiative in 2011 to help connect veterans with job opportunities.
But some veterans have had trouble accessing the benefits available to them. Glitches in the Department of Veterans Affairs computer networks caused delays in benefit payments last year, leaving some homeless and unable to pay school tuition.
Others have struggled to apply their military experience to the civilian market. Combat veterans in particular have trouble translating their experience to a civilian job. A 2018 study found that employers also have trouble understanding the potential benefits veterans bring to the workforce. Only 17% of respondents in the study’s survey considered veterans useful assets in the workplace.
[Also read: ‘National security imperative’: Military spouses struggle to find employment]
