For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, March 19, 2020 USDL-20-0452 Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov (NOTE: Population controls used in the weighting of state data for veterans and nonveterans in tables 6A and 6B of the Employment Situation of Veterans 2019 news release were incorrect. All differences were minor and not statistically significant, and have been corrected as of April 22, 2020.) EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF VETERANS -- 2019 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--was 3.5 percent in 2019, little changed from 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The jobless rate for all veterans declined in 2019 to 3.1 percent. In August 2019, 41 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans had a service-connected disability, compared with 25 percent of all veterans. This information was obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households that provides data on employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force in the United States. Data about veterans are collected monthly in the CPS; these monthly data are the source of the 2019 annual averages presented in this news release. In August 2019, 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 news release. The supplement was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. For more information, see the Technical Note in this news release. Highlights from the 2019 data: --The unemployment rate for male veterans declined to 3.0 percent in 2019, and the rate for female veterans (3.7 percent) changed little over the year. The unemployment rate for male veterans was not statistically different from the rate for female veterans. (See table A.) --Among the 284,000 unemployed veterans in 2019, 56 percent were ages 25 to 54, 39 percent were age 55 and over, and 5 percent were ages 18 to 24. (See table 2A.) --Veterans with a service-connected disability had an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent in August 2019, not statistically different from the rate for veterans with no disability (3.7 percent). (See table 7.) --Gulf War-era II veterans who reported 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 (92.2 percent, compared with 61.2 percent in August 2019). (See table 7.) --In August 2019, 31 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector, compared with 17 percent of veterans with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.) --In 2019, the unemployment rate of veterans varied across the country, ranging from 0.9 percent in Maryland to 6.1 percent in Montana. (See table 6A.) The Veteran Population In 2019, 18.8 million men and women were veterans, accounting for about 8 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population age 18 and over. Of all veterans, 1 in 10 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 much more likely to be men than are nonveterans, and they 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 60 years old. Veterans who served during these wartime periods accounted for 38 percent (7.2 million) of the total veteran population in 2019. Thirty-nine percent of veterans (7.4 million) served during Gulf War-era I (August 1990 to August 2001) or Gulf War-era II (September 2001 to present). Twenty-two percent (4.2 million) served outside the designated wartime periods. (See tables 1 and 2A.) Gulf War-era II Veterans In 2019, there were 4.3 million veterans who had served during Gulf War-era II (September 2001 to present). Seventeen percent of these veterans were women, compared with 3.5 percent of veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. About two-thirds of all Gulf War-era II veterans were between the ages of 25 and 44. (See tables 1 and 2A.) Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for men (3.4 percent) was lower than the rate for women (4.7 percent) in 2019. The unemployment rates for men and women were little changed over the year. (See table A.) In 2019, the unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era II veterans, at 3.4 percent, was little different from the rate for male nonveterans, at 3.7 percent. Among men ages 25 to 34, Gulf War-era II veterans had a lower unemployment rate (3.1 percent) than did nonveterans (3.8 percent). Among men ages 35 to 44, however, Gulf War-era II veterans had a higher unemployment rate (3.6 percent) than did nonveterans (2.5 percent). (See table 2B.) The unemployment rate for female Gulf War-era II veterans was 4.7 percent in 2019, higher than the rate for female nonveterans (3.5 percent). By age, unemployment rates for female Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans were not statistically different, with one exception: 35- to 44-year-old female Gulf War-era II veterans had a rate of 5.0 percent, higher than the rate of 2.9 percent for their nonveteran counterparts. (See table 2C.) Employed Gulf War-era II veterans were about twice as likely to work in the public sector in 2019 as employed nonveterans--25 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Among the employed, 15 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans worked for the federal government, compared with 2 percent of nonveterans. (See table 5.) In August 2019, 42 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, or both locations. These veterans had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, little different from the rate for Gulf War-era II veterans who served elsewhere (4.8 percent). (See table 10.) Gulf War-era I Veterans In 2019, of the 3.1 million veterans who served during Gulf War-era I (August 1990 to August 2001), the proportion who were women (16 percent) was similar to that of Gulf War-era II veterans (17 percent). All Gulf War-era I veterans were age 35 and over in 2019, compared with 57 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans. Nearly half of Gulf War-era I veterans were ages 45 to 54, 22 percent were ages 35 to 44, 22 percent were ages 55 to 64, and 10 percent were age 65 and over. (See tables 1 and 2A.) In 2019, the unemployment rates for male and female Gulf War-era I veterans were little different (2.7 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively). The rates for male and female Gulf War-era I veterans were lower than those of their Gulf War-era II counterparts, at 3.4 percent for male Gulf War-era II veterans and 4.7 percent for female Gulf War-era II veterans. The difference in 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 than older people. (See tables 2B and 2C.) Veterans of Other Service Periods In 2019, 4.2 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 age 45 and over at the time of the survey. Thirteen percent of these veterans were ages 45 to 54 in 2019, 48 percent were ages 55 to 64, and 39 percent were age 65 and over. (See table 2A.) In 2019, 1 in 10 veterans of other service periods were women. Among veterans of other service periods, the unemployment rate for men (2.8 percent) was not statistically different from the rate for women (3.9 percent). The rate for men declined over the year, while the rate for women was little different. (See table 1.) Veterans with a Service-connected Disability In August 2019, 4.7 million veterans, or 25 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. (See table 7.) The unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability was 4.8 percent in August 2019, not statistically different from the rate for veterans with no disability (3.7 percent). The labor force participation rate for veterans with a service-connected disability (47.5 percent) was also not statistically different from the rate for veterans with no disability (48.1 percent). Among veterans with a service-connected disability, 26 percent reported a disability rating of less than 30 percent, while another 44 percent had a rating of 60 percent or higher. In August 2019, 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 (53.8 percent and 40.8 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 3.0 percent, lower than the rate for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher (8.6 percent). Among veterans who served during Gulf War-era II, 41 percent (1.8 million) reported a service-connected disability in August 2019. In August 2019, 72.7 percent of all Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability were in the labor force, lower than the 84.8 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 5.5 percent, not statistically different from those with no disability (4.4 percent). Among Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability, 17 percent reported a disability rating of less than 30 percent and another 55 percent reported a disability rating of 60 percent or higher in August 2019. Gulf War-era II veterans who reported a 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 (92.2 percent, compared with 61.2 percent). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 2.3 percent in August 2019, much lower than the rate for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher (9.4 percent). In August 2019, 26 percent (768,000) of veterans who served during Gulf War-era I reported a service-connected disability. Their labor force participation rate (62.6 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans who did not have a disability (81.4 percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans with a service-connected disability (2.5 percent) was not statistically different from that for Gulf War-era I veterans without a service-connected disability (3.4 percent). Fifteen percent (641,000) of veterans who served during other service periods reported a service-connected disability in August 2019. The labor force participation rate of these veterans (38.2 percent) was lower than their counterparts without a service-connected disability (47.0 percent), while the unemployment rates were not statistically different for veterans with a service-connected disability (5.1 percent) and those with no disability (3.6 percent). Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector. In August 2019, 31 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 17 percent of veterans with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. Twenty percent of employed veterans with a disability worked for the federal government, compared with 8 percent of veterans with no disability and 2 percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.) Reserve and National Guard Membership In August 2019, one-third of Gulf War-era veterans (August 1990 to present) were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard. The labor force participation rate was higher for veterans who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard (81.9 percent) than for veterans who were never members (76.6 percent). Among Gulf War-era veterans, those who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard had an unemployment rate (4.7 percent), not statistically different from that for those who had never been members (3.9 percent). (See table 9.)