Employment Situation of Veterans Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, March 20, 2025              	           USDL-25-0377

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps  
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                        EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF VETERANS -- 2024
                        
                        
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--was 
little changed at 3.2 percent in 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today. The jobless rate for all veterans also was little changed over the year at 
3.0 percent. In August 2024, 48 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans had a service-
connected disability, compared with 31 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 people 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 2024 annual averages 
presented in this news release. In August 2024, 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 2024 data:

 --The unemployment rate for all veterans (3.0 percent) was lower than the rate for
   nonveterans (3.9 percent) in 2024. (See table A.)

 --The unemployment rates for male veterans (2.9 percent) and female veterans (3.5 percent) 
   changed little in 2024. The unemployment rate for male veterans was not statistically 
   different from the rate for female veterans. (See table A.)

 --Unemployment rates for White, Black, and Hispanic veterans were lower than for 
   nonveterans in 2024, while the rate for Asian veterans was not statistically different  
   than their nonveteran counterparts. (See table 1.)

 --Among the 250,000 unemployed veterans in 2024, 60 percent were ages 25 to 54, 35 percent 
   were age 55 and over, and 5 percent were ages 18 to 24. (See table 2A.)

 --Gulf War-era II veterans who reported a service-connected disability rating of less than 
   30 percent in August 2024 were more likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating 
   of 60 percent or higher (90.0 percent versus 74.5 percent). (See table 7.)

 --In August 2024, 36.5 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected disability 
   worked in the public sector, compared with 19.8 percent of veterans with no disability and
   12.4 percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.)

The Veteran Population

In 2024, 17.6 million men and women were veterans, accounting for about 7 percent of the 
civilian noninstitutional population age 18 and over. Of all veterans, about 12 percent 
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 over age 65. Veterans who served during
these wartime periods accounted for about one-third (5.6 million) of the total veteran 
population in 2024. Forty-six 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). The remaining 
22 percent (3.8 million) served outside these designated wartime periods. (See tables 1 
and 2A.)

The unemployment rates for veteran men (2.9 percent) and women (3.5 percent) changed little 
in 2024. In comparison to nonveteran men and women, the unemployment rate for veteran men was
lower than their nonveteran counterparts (4.1 percent), while the rate for veteran women was 
little different from that of their nonveteran counterparts (3.8 percent). Unemployment rates 
for White (2.8 percent), Black (3.6 percent), Asian (3.9 percent), and Hispanic or Latino 
(3.5 percent) veterans were little changed over the year and were not statistically different
from each other in 2024.

Gulf War-era II Veterans 

In 2024, there were 5.3 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. (See tables 
1 and 2A.) 

The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans was little changed at 3.2 percent in 2024.
Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rates for men and women were little changed 
over the year and not statistically different from each other (3.1 percent and 3.7 percent, 
respectively). (See table A.) 

The unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era II veterans, at 3.1 percent, was lower than the
rate for male nonveterans, at 4.1 percent, in 2024. By age, unemployment rates for male Gulf 
War-era II veterans and male nonveterans were not statistically different, with one exception:
55-to-64-year-old male Gulf War-era II veterans had an unemployment rate of 1.4 percent, 
lower than the rate of 3.1 percent for their nonveteran counterparts. (See table 2B.) 

The unemployment rate for female Gulf War-era II veterans, at 3.7 percent, was little 
different from the rate for female nonveterans (3.8 percent) in 2024. By age, unemployment
rates for female Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans were generally not statistically
different. (See table 2C.)

Employed Gulf War-era II veteran men were more likely to work in management, professional,
and related occupations (41.9 percent) than were nonveteran men (39.7 percent). Male 
veterans from this period of service were less likely than their nonveteran counterparts 
to work in sales and office occupations (12.2 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively) and
production, transportation, and material moving occupations (15.7 percent and 17.6 percent, 
respectively). For women, employed Gulf War-era II veterans were more likely to work in
management, professional, and related occupations (59.3 percent) than were employed 
nonveteran women (49.1 percent). In contrast, veteran women from this period of service 
were less likely to work in service occupations than their nonveteran counterparts (15.8 
percent and 19.7 percent, respectively), less likely to work in sales and office 
occupations (18.3 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively), and less likely to work in 
production, transportation, and material moving occupations (4.7 percent and 6.4 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 2024 as their employed nonveteran counterparts--25.9 percent versus 10.2 percent. 
Employed female Gulf War-era II veterans were twice as likely to work in the public sector
than nonveteran women--32.5 percent versus 16.2 percent. Overall, among employed Gulf War-
era II veterans, 15.0 percent worked for the federal government, compared with 2.2 percent
of nonveterans. (See table 5.) 

In August 2024, 40 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported serving in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, or both locations. The unemployment rate for these veterans, at 5.0 percent,
changed little over the year. The rate for Gulf War-era II veterans who served elsewhere 
(3.0 percent) also showed little change in August 2024. (See table 10.)

Gulf War-era I Veterans

In 2024, of the 2.8 million veterans who served during Gulf War-era I (August 1990 to 
August 2001), 16 percent were women. The overall unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I 
veterans was 2.3 percent in 2024, unchanged from the prior year. (See tables 1 and 2A.)

In 2024, the unemployment rate for male Gulf War-era I veterans (2.1 percent) was lower 
than that of male Gulf War-era II veterans (3.1 percent). The difference in unemployment 
rates reflect, 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 (3.5 percent) was 
little different than the rate for female Gulf War-era II veterans (3.7 percent). (See 
tables 2B and 2C.)

Veterans of Other Service Periods 

In 2024, 3.8 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. In 2024, about 1 in 10 veterans of other service periods were women. (See 
tables 1 and 2C.) 

The jobless rate for veterans of other service periods changed little in 2024 at 2.8 
percent. The unemployment rate for male veterans from this period of service increased 
to 2.9 percent, while the rate for female veterans from this period of service (2.2 
percent) showed little change over the year. (See table 1.)

Veterans with a Service-connected Disability

In August 2024, 5.5 million veterans, or 31 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.) 

Over the year, the unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability
changed little at 4.1 percent in August 2024. The rate for veterans with no service-
connected disability also was little changed at 3.6 percent. The unemployment rates 
for both male veterans with a service-connected disability (3.2 percent) and female 
veterans with a service-connected disability (9.1 percent) showed little change over
the year.

Among veterans with a service-connected disability in August 2024, 19 percent had a
disability rating of less than 30 percent, while 59 percent had a rating of 60 percent
or higher. The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30
percent was 1.4 percent, lower than the rate for those with a disability rating of 60 
percent or higher, at 6.2 percent.

In August 2024, 48 percent (2.5 million) of veterans who served during Gulf War-era II 
reported a service-connected disability, the same proportion as those who reported not
having a service-connected disability. The labor force participation rate of Gulf War-
era II veterans with a service-connected disability (77.3 percent) was lower than the 
rate for veterans from this period with no service-connected disability (84.8 percent). 
Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for those with a service-connected
disability (4.7 percent) was not statistically different than the rate for those with no
disability (3.1 percent). 

Among Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability, 65 percent reported 
a disability rating of 60 percent or higher in August 2024. Gulf War-era II veterans who
reported a disability rating of less than 30 percent were more likely to be in the labor
force than those with a rating of 60 percent or higher (90.0 percent compared with 74.5 
percent). 

In August 2024, 34 percent (1.0 million) of veterans who served during Gulf War-era I 
reported a service-connected disability. Their labor force participation rate (54.7 
percent) was lower than the rate for Gulf War-era I veterans who did not have a service-
connected disability (76.1 percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans 
with a service-connected disability (3.8 percent) was not statistically different than 
the rate for those without a service-connected disability (4.5 percent).

Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability work
in the public sector. In August 2024, 36.5 percent of employed veterans with a service-
connected disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 19.8
percent of veterans with no disability and 12.4 percent of nonveterans. About one-fifth 
(20.5 percent) of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked for the 
federal government, compared with 7.9 percent of veterans with no disability and 2.1
percent of nonveterans. (See table 8.)

Reserve and National Guard Membership

In August 2024, over one-third (1.9 million) of Gulf War-era II veterans were current or 
past members of the Reserve or National Guard. The labor force participation rate for 
veterans of this period who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard 
(79.3 percent) was not statistically different from the rate for veterans who had never 
been members (82.1 percent). Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rates for 
those who were current or past members of the Reserve or National Guard (3.1 percent) and 
for those who had never been members (4.1 percent) were not statistically different from 
each other and little changed from a year earlier. (See table 9.)