One of the biggest issues many veterans face in their daily lives after service is that it's not always easy for them to get a job. This may be true for a number of reasons, but the good news is that this trend finally seems to be reversing itself. In fact, 2015 saw the biggest uptick in hiring of former servicemembers in years.
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate for veterans who served after 9/11 slid to just 5.8 percent at the end of 2015, down sharply from the 7.2 percent observed at the same time in 2014, according to a report from the Military Times. That's the lowest annual rate since veterans of those engagements started coming home, and far more in line with those of other demographic groups as well. The overall unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, but didn't improve as dramatically as that of post-9/11 veterans.
"Some of the improvement in the unemployment rate for veterans across the board has happened somewhat in parallel with the overall reduction in our nation's unemployment numbers over the last five to six years," Jack Norton, a spokesman spokesperson for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes program, told the news organization. "At the same time, though, through much of our effort, businesses of all sizes have been reminded of the value of veterans as employees and have strengthened their veteran hiring programs as a result."
With veteran hiring on the rise, opportunities likely abound for former servicemembers who are looking for a stable job situation that can help them in many aspects of their lives. The more businesses can do to continue putting an emphasis on hiring these workers, the better off both sides of the equation will be.