Technical Note
The data in this news release were collected through the Current Population Survey (CPS).
The CPS--a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible households conducted by the U.S. Census
Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics--obtains information on employment and unemployment
among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over.
Most of the data in this news release are annual averages, compiled from the results of the
monthly survey. In August, a supplement to the CPS collected additional information about veterans
on topics such as service-connected disability, veterans' Reserve or National Guard status, and
veterans who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. The supplement was co-sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs and by the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and
Training Service. Questions were asked of people 17 years of age and older regarding their prior
service in the U.S. Armed Forces. Data is tabulated for people 18 years of age and older.
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Definitions
The definitions underlying the data in this news release are as follows:
Veterans are men and women who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and who
were civilians at the time they were surveyed. Members of the Reserve and National Guard are
counted as veterans if they had ever been called to active duty. People who are on active duty at
the time of the survey are outside the scope of the survey and thus not in the estimates shown
here, as are people who reside in institutions, such as nursing homes and prisons.
World War II, Korean War, Vietnam-era, and Gulf War-era veterans are men and women who served in
the U.S. Armed Forces during these periods of service, regardless of where in the world they served.
Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified in the most recent one.
Veterans of other service periods are men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time
other than World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam era, or the Gulf War era. Although U.S. Armed
Forces were engaged in several armed conflicts during other service periods, these conflicts were
more limited in scope and included a smaller proportion of the Armed Forces than the selected wartime
periods. Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and during another period are
classified in the wartime period.
Nonveterans are men and women who never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Veteran status is obtained from responses to the question, "Did you ever serve on active duty in the
U.S. Armed Forces?"
Period of service identifies when a veteran served in the Armed Forces, but not the location of their
service. It is obtained from answers to the question asked of veterans, "When did you serve on active
duty in the U.S. Armed Forces?" The following service periods are identified:
Gulf War era II -- September 2001-present
Gulf War era I -- August 1990-August 2001
Vietnam era -- August 1964-April 1975
Korean War -- July 1950-January 1955
World War II -- December 1941-December 1946
Other service periods -- All other time periods
Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service. Veterans are counted
only in one period of service, their most recent wartime period. Veterans who served in more than one
wartime period are classified in the most recent one. Veterans who served in both a wartime period and
any other service period are classified in the wartime period. The period-of-service definitions are
modified occasionally to reflect changes in law, regulations, and program needs of the survey sponsors.
Veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, or both are individuals who served in Iraq at any time since
March 2003, in Afghanistan at any time since October 2001, or in both locations. Service in Iraq or
Afghanistan is determined by answers to two questions: "Did you serve in Iraq, off the coast of Iraq,
or did you fly missions over Iraq at any time since March 2003?" and "Did you serve in Afghanistan, or
did you fly missions over Afghanistan, at any time since October 2001?"
Presence of service-connected disability is determined by answers to two questions beginning in August
2021: "Have you filed a claim for or received a rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs or the
Department of Defense confirming that you have a service-connected disability; that is, a health condition
or impairment caused or made worse by military service?” and (asked of those who said yes) “Did you
receive a VA disability rating?” People who applied for and received a service-connected disability rating
are classified as having a service-connected disability. People who applied for but did not receive a
service-connected disability rating are classified as without a service-connected disability.
Service-connected disability rating is based on answers to the question, "What is your current VA
service-connected disability rating?" Answers can range from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage
points. Ratings are determined by the VA or DoD from a rating schedule published in the Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 38, "Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief," Part 4--"Schedule for Rating Disabilities."
The rating schedule is "primarily a guide in the evaluation of disability resulting from all types of
diseases and injuries encountered as a result of or incident to military service. The percentage ratings
represent as far as can practicably be determined the average impairment in earning capacity resulting
from such diseases and injuries and their residual conditions in civil occupations." Part 4 contains a
listing of hundreds of possible disorders and assigns ratings of 0 through 100 percent, with instructions
for rating multiple disorders.
Reserve and National Guard membership refers only to Gulf War-era veterans who are current or past members
of the Reserve or National Guard. Members of the Reserve and National Guard are counted as veterans if
they had ever been called to active duty. These data do not refer to all people who may have ever served in
the Reserve or National Guard. Beginning in August 2021, Reserve or National Guard status is obtained from
answers to the question asked of veterans, “Have you ever been a member of the Reserve or National Guard?”
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather
than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates will differ from
the true population values they represent. The component of this difference that occurs because samples
differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of the
estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample
will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling error.
BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons,
including the failure to sample a segment of the population, the inability to obtain information for
all respondents in the sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct
information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
Information about the reliability of national data from the CPS and instructions on how to generate
standard errors are available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
For a discussion of the reliability of state estimates from the CPS, such as those in tables 6A and
6B of this news release, see www.bls.gov/opub/geographic-profile/home.htm.
Comparability of the estimates
Effective with data for January 2023, estimates for veterans incorporate population controls derived
from a new Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop2020). In
accordance with usual practice, BLS did not revise estimates for previous years. Information about
the Veteran Population Projection Model is available from the Department of Veterans Affairs at
www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/Demographics/New_Vetpop_Model/VetPop2020_A_Brief_Description.pdf.
United States Department of Labor
