Women Gulf War Vets Doing Better Finding Jobs, Men Not

During the last year - higher rate of
unemployment of male vets.

Based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, more jobs are being found by male veterans who did not serve in wartime and by male non-veterans. But those who served are not having such luck. Their unemployment rates during the last year have been rising for every period of service.

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Dear Reader -

This is cross-posted from the Warriors-Families blogsite, a Beta Site for the Warrior Family Foundation. The WFF is now:

• Creating its official (alpha) site at www.warriorfamily.org. 
• Initiating some informational events starting November 14 in New York City. 

To provide us with feedback and be added to our list of invitees for various events, please contact me at teppermarlin@warriorfamily.org.

John Tepper Marlin 
Chief Economist and Beta Blogsite Manager
Warrior Family Foundation.

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The good news is that unemployment rates are lower among male vets than the non-veteran population, although (1) this is not true for the youngest vets, the Gulf War II cohort, and (2) some part of the explanation is not such good news, i.e., the portion of veterans whose service-related disabilities have forced them out of the labor force.

During the past year, the unemployment rate of wartime male veterans has increased for every period of service. It has declined from 6 percent to 5.1 percent for male veterans of non-wartime service. It has also declined for non-veterans.

Unemployment Rate % - Men Vets by Service vs. Non-Vets (BLS Table A-5)
Veteran status, service period
	Sept.	Sept.
	2012	2013	Change
VETERANS, 18 years and over	5.9	6.3	0.4
Gulf War-era II veterans	8.0	9.7	1.7
Gulf War-era I veterans	5.1	5.7	0.6
World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans	5.3	5.5	0.2
Veterans of other service periods	6.0	5.1	-0.9
NONVETERANS, 18 years and over	7.5	7.1	-0.4

Source: BLS Household Survey for September 2013, released October 22, 2013.

Women vets from both Gulf Wars, and

those who did not serve in wartime, and

non-veteran women, have all been finding

more jobs during the last year. Older women vets

have not.

Female veterans below a certain age are faring much better. For those who served in either of the two Gulf War period, their unemployment rates have come down substantially during the past year. Those who served in Gulf War I are particularly fortunate, with an unemployment rate that fell from 19.9 percent to 11.6 percent. The improvement is also true for women vets who did not serve in wartime, and for non-veterans.

However, older women vets who served in WWII or the Korean or Vietnam wars have not seen the same improvement in their job-seeking success. Their unemployment rate rose slightly.

Unemployment Rate % - Women Vets by Service
vs. Non-Vets (BLS Table A-5)
Veteran status, service period
	Sept.	Sept.
	2012	2013	Change
VETERANS, 18 years and over	13.2	7.5	-5.7
Gulf War-era II veterans	19.9	11.6	-8.3
Gulf War-era I veterans	15.9	4.3	-11.6
World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans	5.0	5.5	0.5
Veterans of other service periods	7.2	6.6	-0.6
NONVETERANS, 18 years and over	7.3	6.5	-0.8

Source: BLS Household Survey for September 2013, released October 22, 2013.