(NewsNation) — The annual unemployment rate for U.S. veterans fell to historic lows last year, according to a new report released Tuesday.
Veteran unemployment was down from 2021, dropping from 4.4% to 2.8% in 2022.
The latest findings from the Bureau of Labor of Statistics’ annual “Employment Situation of Veterans Report” suggest the job market remains strong for the country’s 18.4 million veterans.
The 2.8% rate for all veterans was lower than the rate for nonveterans (3.6%) last year and is near the lowest level in decades for both men and women.
For veterans who served after 9/11, the unemployment rate fell below pre-pandemic levels. The employment situation for that group has markedly improved over the past 10 years after the jobless rate surged to more than 15% in January 2011.
Around that time, employers came together to start programs like the Veteran Jobs Mission, which focused on hiring and training veterans. That same year, Congress passed the bipartisan “VOW to Hire Heroes Act,” to help unemployed veterans find jobs.
Experts say today’s low veteran unemployment rate reflects that yearslong push to support veterans in the workplace.
“Ultimately, you’re seeing the many efforts that have been implemented in the past decade,” said Rosalinda Vasquez Maury, the director of applied research and analytics at Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).
Last year, North Dakota had the lowest veteran unemployment rate at 0.7% while Nevada had the highest at 5.2%.
The jobless rate for veterans with a service-connected disability — who make up 27% of all veterans — was slightly higher (3.6%) than the rate for veterans with no disability (2.7%) when that data was collected in August 2022. Both groups participated in the labor force at relatively similar rates last year, the report found.
Last year’s promising jobs trend may ultimately be overshadowed by the historic inflation over the same time period.
More than 60% of veterans surveyed by the Wounded Warrior Project over the summer said they “couldn’t make ends meet at some point in the last 12 months.” Over 80% of respondents said that rising costs were the top cause of financial strain.
After peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, annual inflation fell to 6.0% in February which is still well above the average over the past 20 years.
