Honoring America’s Veterans

Friday, November 8, 2024

In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I. Originally called Armistice Day, the day was declared a federal holiday in the United States in 1938. Its name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all American veterans. And there are many—about 17.9 million as of 2023, nearly 50 percent of whom participated in the labor force by either working or looking for work. BLS wants to thank veterans and recognize the vital role they play in our labor force. So, let’s take a look at the states and occupations where we find these veterans.

Veterans accounted for 5.2 percent of the overall labor force in 2023. Among labor force participants living in Alaska, 10.3 percent were veterans. Virginia (9.8 percent) and Montana (8.9 percent) had the next largest shares of veterans in the labor force, while New Jersey (2.2 percent), New York (2.9 percent), and the District of Columbia (2.9 percent) had the smallest.

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

Occupational choices are influenced by education level so let’s consider how it has changed for veterans over time. In 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act—known as the G.I. Bill—was introduced into law to provide benefits for veterans, including benefits that helped veterans pay for college education and vocational programs. In 2008, Congress approved an expansion that covered the entire cost of in-state tuition for eligible Gulf War-era II veterans, those who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces since September 2001. Partially due to these expanded benefits, the share of these veterans with a bachelor’s degree or higher increased substantially since 2008. The share of Gulf War-era II veterans with a bachelor's degree or higher was about 41 percent in 2023, compared to 27 percent in 2008.

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

The largest share of veterans were employed in management, professional, and related occupations in 2023. Around 7 of every 10 employed veterans worked in private industry. The remainder were government and other workers. Among men that are Gulf War-era II veterans, 42.4 percent worked in management, professional, and related occupations, larger than the proportion of nonveterans in the same occupation group (39.8 percent). Similarly, more male Gulf War-era II veterans (14.4 percent) worked in service occupations than did nonveterans (12.7 percent). Service occupations include fields such as healthcare support, protective service, food preparation and serving, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and personal care and service occupations. Men from this period of service were less likely to work in sales and office occupations or in production, transportation, and material moving occupations than men that were not veterans.

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

More than half (52.0 percent) of employed female Gulf War-era II veterans had jobs in management, professional, and related occupations, about the same as nonveteran women (48.8 percent) in 2023. About one quarter (25.8 percent) of employed veteran women from this period of service had jobs in sales and office occupations, similar to employed nonveteran women, at 24.1 percent. In contrast, veteran women from Gulf War-era II held a smaller share of employment in service occupations (14.6 percent) than did their nonveteran counterparts (19.4 percent).

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

This only touches on what BLS data tell us about veterans. These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Employment Situation of Veterans — 2023” and Veterans Demographics.

 Share of labor force, veterans 18 years and over, by state, 2023 annual averages

State	Percent of people in the labor force who are veterans
United States	5.2
Alaska	10.3
Virginia	9.8
Montana	8.9
South Carolina	8.1
Wyoming	8.1
Alabama	7.6
Oklahoma	7.2
West Virginia	7.2
Arkansas	7.0
Nevada	7.0
Maine	6.9
Delaware	6.8
Iowa	6.8
New Mexico	6.8
South Dakota	6.7
Tennessee	6.6
New Hampshire	6.5
North Dakota	6.5
Kentucky	6.4
Mississippi	6.3
Georgia	6.2
North Carolina	6.2
Arizona	6.1
Colorado	6.1
Louisiana	6.1
Texas	6.1
Hawaii	6.0
Maryland	6.0
Washington	6.0
Missouri	5.8
Florida	5.7
Idaho	5.7
Indiana	5.7
Oregon	5.7
Ohio	5.6
Kansas	5.4
Nebraska	5.4
Michigan	5.1
Vermont	4.8
Utah	4.7
Pennsylvania	4.6
Wisconsin	4.5
Rhode Island	4.4
Minnesota	4.0
Illinois	3.4
Connecticut	3.3
California	3.2
Massachusetts	3.1
District of Columbia	2.9
New York	2.9
New Jersey	2.2

Percent distribution of Gulf War-era II veterans 25 years and over by educational attainment, annual averages 2008–2023

Year	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college	Bachelor's degree and higher
2008	1.4	25.5	46.1	26.9
2009	1.3	25.4	45.8	27.5
2010	0.9	26.2	45.3	27.7
2011	1.1	25.1	44.8	29.0
2012	1.2	24.2	43.5	31.0
2013	1.3	23.3	44.1	31.4
2014	1.2	23.4	45.0	30.4
2015	1.4	20.7	44.1	33.8
2016	1.1	21.4	42.7	34.8
2017	1.2	20.6	41.6	36.6
2018	1.0	21.2	39.5	38.3
2019	1.0	23.1	39.0	36.9
2020	1.0	21.2	37.7	40.1
2021	0.9	20.6	38.3	40.2
2022	0.8	19.8	37.4	41.9
2023	0.6	21.1	37.1	41.2

Percent distribution of employed male Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans 18 years and over by occupation, annual averages 2023

Occupation	Gulf War-era II veterans	Nonveterans
Total	100.0	100.0
Management, professional, and related occupations	42.4	39.8
Service occupations	14.4	12.7
Sales and office occupations	11.8	14.0
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	15.8	16.0
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	15.4	17.5

Percent distribution of employed female Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans 18 years and over by occupation, annual averages 2023

Occupation	Gulf War-era II veterans	Nonveterans
Total	100.0	100.0
Management, professional, and related occupations	52.0	48.8
Service occupations	14.6	19.4
Sales and office occupations	25.8	24.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	2.3	1.1
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	5.4	6.6