Jeffrey Wortham’s intent is clear: You’d better do as you’re told.

That certainly was the impression Captain, a 1-year-old poodle, had upon hearing Wortham command the dog to sit during a recent Wednesday night obedience class.

Wortham is a 50-year-old dog trainer who means business. He doesn’t hand out treats. He uses a sharp jerk of the leash to remind a dog of a command. His deep voice booms across Mo’s Place II, a dog training and grooming shop he co-owns with Maureen Casiello in Bixby Knolls.

It’s just a little intimidating to watch, but maybe that’s the point.

Wortham learned to train dogs as a Marine when he was 19 years old. He was the kennel master at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and trained narcotics and police dogs. Now, 26 years since his discharge, his military background is the reason he is raking in cash.

Mo’s Place II recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. And Wortham is already talking about expansion. The business attracted 39 customers in its first month. Now it receives about 406 customers per month.

But not every veteran is doing so well.

Although nationally about 6.7 percent of veterans are unemployed, Iraq War veterans, or those who have served since September 2001, are experiencing much higher rates of unemployment – almost 10 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In California, the state with the largest veteran population nationwide, the numbers don’t get any better. According to October 2012 numbers from the California Employment Development Department, the most recent numbers available, veterans ages 18-24 experienced a 43.9 percent unemployment rate – more than double the rate of their civilian counterparts.

Veterans ages 25-34 were slightly better off, with an unemployment rate of 11.7 percent.

Many soldiers are returning home to find they are in another battle – the fight for a job.

Deric Rich, who served as a combat corpsman in the Navy, sought a hospital job after completing his service in May 2012. He had his medical assistant’s license but wasn’t called back for any interviews. Later, he applied to fast-food joints and maintenance repair jobs. He estimates sending out at least 60 résumés and is still without a job. He enrolled in Long Beach City College this fall.

“After months and months of failure, I was like, ‘Screw it, I’ll go to school,’” the 25-year-old said. “I hear on the radio that a lot of companies hire (veterans). Where are these companies?”

Keith Boylan, deputy secretary of veteran services at the California Department of Veterans Affairs, said many veterans have difficulty transferring skills learned in the military onto a résumé.

“Veterans are mission-driven. They are team-oriented,” Boylan said. “Those are soft skills. They aren’t tangible until that veteran comes into the workplace.”

Additionally, Boylan said, some employers are reluctant to hire veterans who have seen combat and might be facing psychological repercussions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the unemployment numbers might not be as bad as they seem, Boylan said. Many veterans are taking the education route upon returning home by using their G.I. Bill benefits to receive a full ride to a four-year university.

Additionally, employment for veterans ages 25-34 is on the upswing. In July 2011, unemployment among the group reached a high of 20.7 percent. By October 2012, that number went down by almost half.

Major employers recently have created aggressive hiring campaigns to employ veterans, and Boylan describes the current times as more veteran-friendly than ever.

But the trend could be short-lived. The two-year-old federal tax program incentivizing businesses to hire veterans is to expire this year.

And some say the veteran-friendly business trend is just tackling the tip of the iceberg.

Jim Hansen, the executive director for U.S. Vets in Long Beach, an organization that provides housing, job training and other services to homeless or at-risk veterans, said his facility is almost always at capacity. In other words, veterans are still struggling.

He is also seeing a younger crowd coming through the doors seeking help.

Hansen said many veterans are so eager to get out and find a job that they don’t take advantage of apprenticeship training available through the G.I. Bill.

“I think the expectations are pretty high that someone is going to take care of them,” Hansen said. “For many, they are not emotionally ready to realize that there are opportunities out there, but they have to work hard.”

Although Wortham is not part of the younger crowd of veterans, he also went through periods of unemployment.

Before starting Mo’s Place II, he had been unemployed for a year and half and had taken contract jobs with pet stores to train dogs.

“There were a lot of lean years,” he said.

This is also his second try starting a dog training business. He had been a partner of California Police Dogs in 1987. The company was in business for only a couple of years.

Now Wortham is looking to hire additional trainers for Mo’s Place II. He wants to hire veterans, specifically.

Though he has seen some veterans thriving, he meets younger veterans struggling to get by. To them, he offers a few words of advice:

“Don’t quit. Just like the military taught you. Keep moving.”

Contact the writer: Follow Kasia Hall on Twitter @kasiahall