Jobless rates for vets still inching upward

[unhappycamper]

Jobless rates for vets still inching upward
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 7, 2010 16:03:03 EDT

The few jobs being created in a stagnant economy do not seem to be going to veterans, as the unemployment rate for former service members rose in July to 8.4 percent overall and to 11.8 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans.

That is an increase over June, when the overall unemployment rate was 8 percent for all veterans and 11.5 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans, and a sign that an economy that grew only about 17,000 jobs in July while losing 133,000 is not a good place for veterans looking for work.

The national unemployment rate for July, however, remained steady, at 9.5 percent. Most of the job losses were the result of elimination of temporary government jobs.

The situation for veterans remains worse than it was one year ago, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports that in July 2009 the unemployment rate for all veterans was 7.9 percent and that the rate for people who served since September 2001 was 9.8 percent.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, concerned about problems for new veterans seeking jobs, passed the Veteran Employment Assistance Act on Thursday, a measure that attempts to improve transition programs for separating service members, tries to find ways to help veterans obtain credentials or licenses to they can get private sector jobs using military-learned skills and also expands small business programs.

[whyverne]

1. This is a handy little stat to bring up when some puke says

that the unemployed are lazy and spoiled.