http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35841591/ns/business-careers/
Unemployment rate hits 21.1 percent, well above that for non-veterans
By Kimberly Hefling
March. 12, 2010
WASHINGTON - The unemployment rate last year for young Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans hit 21.1 percent, the Labor Department said
Friday, reflecting a tough obstacle combat veterans face as they make
the transition home from war.
The number was well above the 16.6 percent jobless rate for
non-veterans of the same ages, 18 to 24.
As of last year, 1.9 million veterans had deployed for the wars since
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Some have struggled with
mental health problems, addictions, and homelessness as they return
home. Difficulty finding work can make the adjustment that much harder.
The just-released rate for young veterans was significantly higher
than the unemployment rate of young veterans in that age group of
14.1 percent in 2008.
Many of the unemployed are members of the Guard and Reserves who have
deployed multiple times, said Joseph Sharpe, director of the economic
division at the American Legion. Sharpe said some come home to find
their jobs have been eliminated because the company has downsized.
Other companies may not want to hire someone who could deploy again
or will have medical appointments because of war-related health
problems, he said.
"It's a horrible environment because if you're a reservist and you're
being deployed two or three times in a five-year period, you know
you're less competitive," Sharpe said. "Many companies that are
already hurting are reluctant to hire you and time kind of moves on
once you're deployed."
'A real hard time'
One veteran looking for work is Dario DiBattista, 26, of Abingdon,
Md., a graduate student who did two tours in Iraq in the Marine
Reserves with a civil affairs unit. He said he's found that a lot of
military skills don't readily transfer into the workplace, and in
many cases, there aren't jobs to apply for even if companies want to
hire veterans.
"If you don't have a strong family support system ... it's hard to
get over the hump to make the decision of where you're going to live,
what you do for work, where you're going to go to school, if you can
even qualify to get into school," DiBattista said.
Justin Wilcox, a 30-year-old Iraq veteran who is participating in a
work-study program at a vet center operated by the Veterans Affairs
Department in Charleston, W.Va., said he hasn't just had problems
finding jobs, but keeping them. He's done work as a coal miner, as a
salesman selling drill bits and in other positions, but he said
mental health problems stemming from the war with side effects such
as anger and difficulty concentrating have made it difficult.
There's a lack of understanding about the needs some veterans have,
said Wilcox, who is studying to become a teacher.
"Basically, it's been a real hard time for me. Because when I do get
a job, it's not a real high paying job," Wilcox said. "I have a
difficult time relating to people and ... one job that I had that
paid really good, I couldn't comprehend what I was supposed to do and
how I was supposed to do it."
Less training, experience
For veterans of all ages from the recent wars, the unemployment rate
in 2009 was 10.2 percent. Historically, younger veterans have had
more difficulty than their older counterparts finding a job because
they often have less training and job experience. Some joined the
military right out of high school.
Lisa Rosser, an Army veteran and company owner who sits on the
advisory board of the Call of Duty Endowment that funds projects
focused on veterans employment issues, said she encourages veterans
to emphasize to prospective employers what they learned about
managing people in a stressful combat environment.
"If they talk about their general leadership skills and their ability
to supervise and to manage people, especially at a very young age,
that is a good sell ... because the average 24-year-old and
27-year-old in the military has similar supervisory and managerial
experience as someone in their 30s on the civilian side," Rosser said.
One possible solution is to make it easier for veterans to transfer
certifications they have for jobs they did in the military into the
civilian workforce, Sharpe said.
The Labor and Veterans Affairs departments have a variety of programs
addressing the problem, including one that educates employers about
how to work with veterans with special needs. The hope is that
another program, the Post-9/11 GI Bill rolled out last year, will be
particularly effective. Under it, $78 billion is expected to be paid
out in education benefits over the next decade for veterans of the
recent wars to attend school.
The national unemployment rate last year was 9.3 percent, the highest
since 1983.
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