The recession has had an effect on all Americans, including new veterans. With the U.S. unemployment rate currently at 7.2 percent, the number of unemployed veterans is a bit lower than other Americans at 6.5 percent. However, the amount of unemployed younger veterans coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq, the rate is much higher.


According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10 percent of veterans from the Gulf War II wars are unemployed. For the veterans aged between 18 and 24, the unemployment rate sits at an uncomfortable 19 percent. To give a better picture, the young generation of vets makes up for 214,000 of the 21 million veterans. Compared to non-veterans between 18 and 24, the unemployment rate is 14.3 percent.


On BizJournals.com, it states that multiple states are combating this by trying to encourage employers to bring aboard veterans by offering $5,000 in tax credits. For instance, in Alabama and New Mexico, a $1,000 tax credit is being offered and in Tennessee, there is a program called “Troops to Trucks” that allows military vets with trucking experience to bypass taking the Commercial Driver’s License tests. Currently, there are half a million veterans from all wars in Tennessee.


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