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Unemployment rate for Gulf War II-era veterans with a service-connected disability up in 2023
March 29, 2024
In August 2023, 46 percent (2.4 million) of veterans who served during the Gulf War II-era reported a service-connected disability. The unemployment rate for these veterans rose by 3.0 percentage points from a year earlier to 6.4 percent in August 2023. The unemployment rate for Gulf War II-era veterans with no service-connected disability increased by 2.1 percentage points to 4.0 percent.
Unemployment rates for Gulf War II-era veterans, by presence and degree of service-connected disability, August 2011 to August 2023
Month
Total, 18 years and over
With a service-connected disability
Less than 30 percent disability rating
Gulf War II-era veterans, 30 to 50 percent disability rating
60 percent or higher disability rating
Without a service-connected disability
Aug 2011
9.8
12.1
12.6
10.4
14.4
9.5
Aug 2012
10.9
8.0
5.6
8.4
9.2
12.5
Aug 2013
10.0
8.6
10.8
5.7
11.6
11.1
Aug 2014
8.1
9.1
10.7
5.2
11.4
7.8
Aug 2015
5.0
5.5
3.0
1.9
8.6
4.8
Aug 2016
5.4
5.4
4.0
3.5
5.4
5.7
Aug 2017
4.5
3.9
2.1
1.5
6.3
4.8
Aug 2018
4.3
5.3
1.8
7.4
6.2
3.3
Aug 2019
4.7
5.5
2.3
1.7
9.4
4.4
Aug 2020
8.4
8.2
5.8
5.4
11.8
8.8
Aug 2021
3.2
3.2
4.9
1.9
3.7
3.6
Aug 2022
2.3
3.4
7.4
3.4
2.6
1.9
Aug 2023
4.8
6.4
4.7
5.9
6.9
4.0
Note: Beginning in August 2015, estimates from the veterans supplement reflect a change in the weighting methodology.
Among Gulf War II-era veterans with a service-connected disability, 65 percent reported a disability rating of 60 percent or higher in August 2023. For these veterans, the unemployment rate rose by 4.3 percentage points from a year earlier to 6.9 percent in August 2023. This rate was not statistically different than the rate of 4.7 percent for those with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent, which changed little from a year earlier.
Among Gulf War II-era veterans, those with a service-connected disability continued to have a lower labor force participation rate (73.0 percent) in August 2023 than did those with no service-connected disability (86.8 percent).
Labor force participation rate of Gulf War II-era veterans, by presence and degree of service-connected disability, August 2011 to August 2023
Month
Total, 18 years and over
With a service-connected disability
Less than 30 percent disability rating
30 to 50 percent disability rating
60 percent or higher disability rating
Without a service-connected disability
Aug 2011
81.5
80.0
87.1
92.2
57.8
83.7
Aug 2012
81.0
70.3
83.9
80.4
51.3
87.0
Aug 2013
78.5
70.5
88.7
69.4
53.9
85.4
Aug 2014
78.8
75.1
81.6
85.3
67.1
85.6
Aug 2015
82.0
73.2
77.1
91.1
62.3
87.3
Aug 2016
82.6
76.0
87.6
86.6
63.4
86.6
Aug 2017
80.7
75.8
91.6
86.9
61.7
85.5
Aug 2018
81.1
73.5
88.6
82.5
62.3
85.8
Aug 2019
79.8
72.7
92.2
84.7
61.2
84.8
Aug 2020
81.5
73.8
91.5
86.5
63.6
87.7
Aug 2021
79.2
72.9
94.4
82.5
63.8
84.3
Aug 2022
80.2
74.3
94.8
79.8
65.9
86.3
Aug 2023
79.8
73.0
83.0
85.1
67.9
86.8
Note: Beginning in August 2015, estimates from the veterans supplement reflect a change in the weighting methodology.
Gulf War II-era veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 60 percent or higher had a labor force participation rate of 67.9 percent in August 2023, lower than the rate of 83.0 percent for those with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent.
Veterans are assigned a disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense. Ratings range from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage points, depending on the severity of the condition.
United States Department of Labor
