Introduction

Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, my name is Christine Scott, from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).  I am honored to appear before the subcommittee today. As requested by the committee, my testimony will highlight the employment situation of veterans, barriers to employment, and employment assistance to veterans. In addition to this testimony, a CRS report on Federal employment assistance to veterans has been submitted for the record.

Current Employment Situation of Veterans

The current voluntary system for military service began more than thirty years ago. Legally, the U.S. has been in the Persian Gulf War since August 1990. However, it has only been in the last decade that the U.S. has been involved in a prolonged period of conflict. Information has only been available for the last few years separating the Persian Gulf War into two distinct periods (based on last date of active military service) -  Gulf War I and Gulf War II (post-September 2001).[1] It is possible to compare unemployment rates of veterans and non-veterans, using this data, before and during the current economic downturn.

Unemployment

As shown in  Figure 1, the monthly unemployment rate[2] for Gulf War II veterans has generally remained higher than that of other veterans and non-veterans over the 2006 to 2009 period (before and during the current economic downturn).  Figure 1 uses a three-month moving average[3] of the monthly unemployment rates.

Figure 1. Unemployment Rates Among Gulf War II Veterans, Other Veterans, and Non-Veterans, January 2006 through December 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes: Unemployment rates are three-month moving averages. For example, the unemployment rate shown for March 2006 is the average rate for January through March 2006.

The higher unemployment rates for Gulf War II veterans reflects the younger age of the Gulf War II veterans population compared to other veterans and non-veterans.

Unemployment by Gender and Age

For unemployment rates, the average annual data[4] for 2009 in Table 1 show higher overall  unemployment rates for Gulf War II veterans than for other veterans.  Unemployment rates vary by age and gender. 

• For Gulf War II veterans, other veterans, and non-veterans, younger persons (ages 18-24 and 25-34) generally have the highest unemployment rates.
• The overall unemployment rate for Gulf War II veterans is higher than the unemployment rate for other veterans. This is also the case for men and women considered separately.  However, there are differences across age groups.
• Female Gulf War II veterans have a higher overall unemployment rate than female  non-veterans, while male Gulf War II veterans have a lower overall unemployment rate than male non-veterans.
• Overall, Gulf War II veterans ages 45-54 have a lower unemployment rate than other veterans or non-veterans in this age group. This is also the case for men and women in this age group.
• For other veterans, the overall unemployment rates for male and female other veterans are lower than the overall unemployment rates for male and female non-veterans.

Table 1. Unemployment Rates for Gulf War II Veterans, Other Veterans, and Non-veterans by Age and Gender, 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes: N.D. – no data available; N.A. – the denominator for calculating percentages is 35,000 or less.

Change in Annual Statistics 2006 to 2009

Changes in the unemployment rates between 2006 and 2009 are a measure of the impact of the recent economic downturn. Table 2 shows changes in unemployment rates by age and gender for Gulf War II veterans, other veterans, and non-veterans.  For example, between 2006 and 2009 the unemployment rate for male Gulf War II veterans ages 18-24 increased by 11.4 percentage points (from 10.2 percent to 21.6 percent). 

• For non-veterans, the increase in unemployment between 2006 and 2009 was generally greatest for younger age groups. Unemployment generally rose less for older workers. In every age group, the increase in unemployment was greater for men than women. 
• For other veterans, the change in unemployment rates was higher for men than women, and was highest for men in the 25-34 and 44-54 age groups. 
• For Gulf War II veterans, unemployment increased the most for the youngest age group (18-24), and for both men and women in that age group.  The percentage point change in unemployment rates for Gulf War II veterans aged 18-24 was larger than for comparable non-veterans.
• For male Gulf War II veterans, the change for the older age groups was lower than for other veterans and non-veterans. 
• For female Gulf War II veterans, the change in unemployment rates varied across age groups and may reflect the small number of women veterans in each age group.

Table 2. Percentage Point Change in Unemployment Rates for Gulf War II Veterans, Other Veterans, and Non-veterans Between 2006 and 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes: N.D. – no data available; N.A. – the denominator for calculating percentages is 35,000 or less.

Disabled Veterans

While the overall unemployment rate of disabled veterans (8.2 percent) was not statistically different from that of non-disabled veterans (8.3 percent) during 2009, the unemployment rate for disabled Gulf War II veterans was much higher than the rate for disabled veterans of other service periods.  Table 3 shows the unemployment rates for disabled veterans (veterans with a service-connected disability rating) by period of service, and non-disabled veterans for 2009. In general the labor force participation rates and unemployment rates for veterans decline the longer the time period since the end of the conflict (and as the veterans population associated with that conflict ages).

Table 3. Unemployment Rate of Disabled Veterans by Period of Service, 2009

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation of Veterans – 2009, March 12, 2010.

Long-term unemployed

Overall Gulf War II veterans are less likely than other veterans and non-veterans to be unemployed long-term (27 weeks or more). Other veterans are more likely than non-veterans to be unemployed long-term.  Table 4 shows the percentage of unemployed by length of unemployment for Gulf War II veterans, other veterans, and non-veterans for 2009.

Table 4. Percentage of Unemployed by Length of Unemployment  for Veterans, Other Veterans and Non-veterans in Each Age Group, 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes: N.D. – no data available; N.A. – the denominator for calculating percentages is 35,000 or less.

Employed Veterans

Overall, as shown in Table 5, for every age group veterans are more likely to work full-time than their non-veteran peers. Also, veterans are significantly more likely to be employed in the public sector as shown in Table 6.  Self-employment rates generally increase with age, and non-veteran age groups generally have higher percentages of self-employed persons. The exception is other veterans ages 55 and over, who have a higher percentage of self-employed than their non-veteran counterparts.

Table 5. Percentage of Full-Time and Part-Time Employment for Gulf War II Veterans, Other Veterans, and Non-Veterans in Each Age Group, 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes: N.D. – no data available; N.A. – the denominator for calculating percentages is 35,000 or less.

Table 6. Percentage of Public, Private, and Self-Employed for Gulf War II Veterans, Other Veterans, and Non-Veterans in Each Age Group, 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Notes:  Public, Private, and Self-employed for each category sums to 100%.N.D. – no data available; N.A. – the denominator for calculating percentages is 35,000 or less.

Federal employment of Veterans

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 25.5 percent of the Federal Government workforce in FY2008 was veterans compared to 8.3 percent for the civilian labor force.[5]  The Federal Government also has a larger share of its workforce comprised of disabled veterans (6.0 percent) compared to the civilian labor force (0.8 percent).

Between FY2005 and FY2008, the total share of the Federal workforce comprised of veterans increased slightly from 25.2 percent to 25.5 percent as shown in Table 7.  In FY2005 and FY2008, the same six executive agencies had the highest percentage of veterans in their workforces. These six agencies also had a percentage of veterans in their workforce that was higher than that of the total Federal workforce. Between FY2005 and FY2008, all six agencies had an increase in the percentage of veterans in their workforces.

Table 7. Federal Executive Agencies with the Highest Percentage of Veterans in the Agency Workforce, FY2005 and FY2008