Veterans with a service-connected disability much more likely to work for the federal government

Twenty-six percent of veterans reported that they had a service-connected disability in August 2020. Veterans with a service-connected disability were much more likely to work for the federal government than either veterans with no service-connected disability or nonveterans. Among employed veterans, 19.3 percent of veterans with a disability worked for the federal government, compared with 9.0 percent of veterans with no disability and 2.5 percent of nonveterans. By contrast, there was little difference between the proportions of veterans and nonveterans who worked for state and local government.

In August 2020, 2.6 percent of veterans with a service-connected disability were self-employed, lower than the share of veterans with no service-connected disability (7.3 percent) or nonveterans (6.0 percent). (Note that the unincorporated self-employed category includes a small number of unpaid family workers.)

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Employment Situation of Veterans — 2020.” Veterans are men and women who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were civilians when they were surveyed. People on active duty are not included in the survey. Veterans are assigned a disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense.