Jobless rate at 11.2% for veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan

[babylonsister]

Jobless rate at 11.2% for veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan


Enlarge image Enlarge By Nati Harnik, AP

Army recruiter Staff Sgt. Roderick Brown talks to an unidentified person at a job fair in Omaha on Tuesday. The jobless rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are 18 and older rose 4% in the past year.

By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY


WASHINGTON — The economic downturn is hitting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans harder than other workers — one in nine are now out of work — and may be encouraging some troops to remain in the service, according to Labor Department records and military officials.

The 11.2% jobless rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are 18 and older rose 4 percentage points in the past year. That's significantly higher than the corresponding 8.8% rate for non-veterans in the same age group, says Labor Department economist Jim Walker.

Army records show the service has hit 152% of its re-enlistment goal this year. "Obviously the economy plays a big role in people's decisions," says Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an Army spokesman.

Some soldiers are re-enlisting specifically because of the poor civilian job market, says Sgt. 1st Class Julius Kelley, a career counselor at Fort Campbell, Ky. "It's job security (in the Army), and I try to sell that all the time," he says. "You don't have to worry about getting laid off in the Army."

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-03-19-jobless-veterans_N.htm