For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, March 21, 2023 USDL-23-0537
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF VETERANS -- 2022
The unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at
any time since September 2001--a group referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans--declined
to 3.1 percent in 2022 and the rate for all veterans decreased to 2.8 percent, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In August 2022, 41 percent of Gulf War-era II
veterans had a service-connected disability, compared with 27 percent of all veterans.
This information was obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample
survey of about 60,000 eligible households that provides data on employment, unemployment,
and persons not in the labor force in the United States. Data about veterans are collected
monthly in the CPS; these monthly data are the source of the 2022 annual averages presented
in this news release. In August 2022, a supplement to the CPS collected additional
information about veterans on topics such as service-connected disability and veterans'
current or past Reserve or National Guard membership. The supplement was co-sponsored by
the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans'
Employment and Training Service. For more information, see the Technical Note in this
news release.
Highlights from the 2022 data:
--The unemployment rate for all veterans (2.8 percent) was lower than the rate for
nonveterans (3.6 percent) in 2022. (See table A.)
--Unemployment rates for both male and female veterans decreased to 2.8 percent in
2022. (See table A.)
--Unemployment rates for White and Black veterans were lower than for their nonveteran
counterparts in 2022, while the rates for Asian and Hispanic veterans were not
statistically different than their nonveteran counterparts. (See table 1.)
--Among the 250,000 unemployed veterans in 2022, 54 percent were ages 25 to 54, 39 percent
were age 55 and over, and 7 percent were ages 18 to 24. (See table 2A.)
--Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate of veterans with a service-connected
disability was little changed at 3.4 percent and the rate for veterans with no disability
decreased to 1.9 percent in August 2022. (See table 7.)
--Gulf War-era II veterans who reported a service-connected disability rating of less
than 30 percent were much more likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating
of 60 percent or higher in August 2022 (94.8 percent compared with 65.9 percent). (See
table 7.)
--In August 2022, 27 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected disability
worked in the public sector, compared with 22 percent of veterans with no disability
and 13 percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.)
--In 2022, the unemployment rate of veterans varied across the country, ranging from
0.7 percent in North Dakota to 5.2 percent in Nevada. (See table 6A.)
The Veteran Population
In 2022, 18.4 million men and women were veterans, accounting for about 7 percent of the civilian
noninstitutional population age 18 and over. Of all veterans, about 1 in 10 were women. In the
survey, veterans are defined as men and women who have previously served on active duty in the
U.S. Armed Forces and who were civilians at the time these data were collected.
Veterans are much more likely to be men than are nonveterans, and they also tend to be older.
In part, this reflects the characteristics of veterans who served during World War II, the Korean
War, and the Vietnam era, all of whom are now 65 years and over. Veterans who served during
these wartime periods accounted for about one-third (6.2 million) of the total veteran population
in 2022. Forty-four percent of veterans (8.1 million) served during Gulf War era I (August 1990
to August 2001) or Gulf War era II (September 2001 to present). Twenty-two percent (4.0 million)
served outside these designated wartime periods. (See tables 1 and 2A.)
Gulf War-era II Veterans
In 2022, there were 4.9 million veterans who had served during Gulf War era II (September 2001
to present). Eighteen percent of these veterans were women, compared with about 4 percent of
veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. Thirty-six percent of all Gulf
War-era II veterans were between the ages of 35 and 44. (See tables 1 and 2A.)
In 2022, the unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans declined to 3.1 percent and was below
the rate in 2019 (3.5 percent) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among Gulf War-era II veterans,
the unemployment rates for men and women were little different from each other and both declined
in 2022 (to 3.1 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively). (See table A.)
The overall unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era II veterans, at 3.1 percent, was lower than
the rate for male nonveterans, at 3.7 percent, in 2022. By age, unemployment rates for male Gulf
War-era II veterans and nonveterans were not statistically different, with one exception: 45- to
54-year-old male Gulf War-era II veterans had an unemployment rate of 1.6 percent, lower than the
rate of 2.4 percent for their nonveteran counterparts. (See table 2B.)
The overall unemployment rate for female Gulf War-era II veterans, at 2.9 percent, was not
statistically different from the rate for female nonveterans (3.5 percent) in 2022. By age,
unemployment rates for female Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans were not statistically
different. (See table 2C.)
Employed Gulf War-era II veteran men were more likely to work in management, professional, and
related occupations than employed nonveteran men (43 percent and 40 percent, respectively),
while these veterans were less likely to work in sales and office occupations than their
nonveteran counterparts (12 percent and 14 percent, respectively). Employed Gulf War-era II
veteran women were less likely to work in service occupations than their nonveteran counterparts
(13 percent and 19 percent, respectively). (See table 4.)
Employed Gulf War-era II veteran men were more than twice as likely to work in the public sector
in 2022 as their employed nonveteran counterparts--26 percent versus 10 percent. Employed female
Gulf War-era II veterans were also more likely to work in the public sector than nonveteran
women--27 percent versus 16 percent. Among the employed, 14 percent of all Gulf War-era II
veterans worked for the federal government, compared with 2 percent of nonveterans. (See table 5.)
In August 2022, 42 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported serving in Iraq, Afghanistan,
or both locations. These veterans had an unemployment rate of 2.3 percent, little different
than the rate for Gulf War-era II veterans who served elsewhere (2.4 percent). (See table 10.)
Gulf War-era I Veterans
In 2022, of the 3.2 million veterans who served during Gulf War era I (August 1990 to August 2001),
15 percent were women. All Gulf War-era I veterans were age 35 and over in 2022, compared with
64 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans. Forty-eight percent of Gulf War-era I veterans were
ages 45 to 54, 28 percent were ages 55 to 64, 13 percent were age 65 and over, and 12 percent
were ages 35 to 44. (See tables 1 and 2A.)
The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans was 2.1 percent in 2022, down by 1.4 percentage
points from the prior year. The jobless rate for Gulf War-era I veterans in 2022 was below
its pre-pandemic rate of 2.6 percent in 2019.
In 2022, the unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era I veterans (2.1 percent) was lower than
that of their Gulf War-era II counterparts (3.1 percent). The difference in unemployment rates
reflects, at least in part, the older age profile of veterans who served during Gulf War era I.
Younger people--whether veterans or nonveterans--tend to have higher unemployment rates than
older people. The rate for female Gulf War-era I veterans (1.8 percent) was slightly lower
than the rate for female Gulf War-era II veterans (2.9 percent). Among Gulf War-era I veterans,
the unemployment rate declined for men but changed little for women in 2022; the rates for
men and women were not statistically different. (See tables 2B and 2C.)
Veterans of Other Service Periods
In 2022, 4.0 million veterans had served on active duty during "other service periods," mainly
between the Korean War and the Vietnam era and between the Vietnam era and Gulf War era I.
All veterans from this period of service were age 45 and over at the time of the survey.
Half of these veterans were ages 55 to 64, 44 percent were age 65 and over, and 6 percent
were ages 45 to 54. In 2022, 1 in 10 veterans of other service periods were women. (See
tables 1 and 2A.)
The jobless rate for veterans of other service periods declined to 2.7 percent in 2022 and
is little different from the rate in 2019 (3.0 percent). Among veterans of other service
periods, the unemployment rate for men (2.7 percent) was not statistically different from
the rate for women (3.1 percent) in 2022. The jobless rate for male veterans of other service
periods declined over the year, while the rate for women was little changed from the prior year.
(See table 1.)
Veterans with a Service-connected Disability
In August 2022, 4.9 million veterans, or 27 percent of all veterans, had a service-connected
disability. Veterans with a service-connected disability 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. (See table 7.)
The unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability changed little at 3.6
percent in August 2022. The rate for veterans with no disability declined to 2.7 percent and
was not statistically different from the rate for veterans with a service-connected disability.
The unemployment rates for male and female veterans with a service-connected disability changed
little over the year to 3.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, in August 2022. These rates
were not statistically different from each other. The labor force participation rate for
veterans with a service-connected disability (47.7 percent) was also not statistically different
than the rate for veterans with no disability (48.4 percent).
Among veterans with a service-connected disability, 23 percent reported a disability rating
of less than 30 percent, while 50 percent had a rating of 60 percent or higher. In August 2022,
veterans with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent were much more
likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating of 60 percent or higher (52.6 percent
versus 44.2 percent). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than
30 percent was 3.5 percent, little different than the rate for those with a disability rating
of 60 percent or higher, at 3.7 percent.
Among veterans who served during Gulf War era II, 41 percent (2.0 million) reported a service-
connected disability in August 2022. The labor force participation rate of all Gulf War-era
II veterans with a service-connected disability was 74.3 percent, lower than the rate for
veterans from this period with no service-connected disability (86.3 percent). Among Gulf War-era
II veterans, the unemployment rate for those with a service-connected disability was 3.4 percent,
not statistically different than the rate for those with no disability (1.9 percent).
Among Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability, 15 percent reported a
disability rating of less than 30 percent and 58 percent reported a disability rating of 60
percent or higher in August 2022. Gulf War-era II veterans who reported a disability rating
of less than 30 percent were much more likely to be in the labor force than those with a
rating of 60 percent or higher (94.8 percent compared with 65.9 percent). The unemployment
rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 7.4 percent in August
2022, higher than the rate for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher, at 2.6
percent.
In August 2022, 30 percent (978,000) of veterans who served during Gulf War era I reported
a service-connected disability. Their labor force participation rate (55.8 percent) was lower
than the rate for Gulf War-era I veterans who did not have a service-connected disability (79.6
percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans with a service-connected disability
(4.3 percent) was higher than the rate for those without a service-connected disability (1.9
percent).
Thirteen percent (534,000) of veterans who served during other service periods reported a
service-connected disability in August 2022. The labor force participation rate of these
veterans (35.9 percent) was lower than their counterparts without a service-connected disability
(44.2 percent). The unemployment rates were not statistically different for veterans with a
service-connected disability (2.4 percent) and those with no disability (3.4 percent).
Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability work in
the public sector. In August 2022, 27 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected
disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 22 percent of veterans
with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. Eighteen percent of employed veterans with
a service-connected disability worked for the federal government, compared with 7 percent of
veterans with no disability and 2 percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.)
Reserve and National Guard Membership
In August 2022, 34 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans were current or past members of the
Reserve or National Guard. The labor force participation rate was higher for veterans of
this period who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard (85.3 percent)
than for veterans who had never been members (77.5 percent). Among Gulf War-era II veterans,
those who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard had an unemployment
rate of 3.2 percent, little changed from a year earlier, while the rate for those who had
never been members declined to 1.9 percent. (See table 9.)
United States Department of Labor
