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Unemployment rate falls for Gulf War-era II veterans with service-connected disability in 2021
April 29, 2022
In August 2021, the unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability, at 3.2 percent, declined by 5.0 percentage points from a year earlier. The rate for Gulf War-era II veterans with no service-connected disability declined by 5.2 percentage points to 3.6 percent.
Unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans by presence and degree of service-connected disability, August 2011–2021
Month
Total, 18 years and over
Without a service-connected disability
With a service-connected disability
Less than 30 percent disability rating
30 to 50 percent disability rating
60 percent or higher disability rating
Aug 2011
9.8%
9.5%
12.1%
12.6%
10.4%
14.4%
Aug 2012
10.9
12.5
8.0
5.6
8.4
9.2
Aug 2013
10.0
11.1
8.6
10.8
5.7
11.6
Aug 2014
8.1
7.8
9.1
10.7
5.2
11.4
Aug 2015
5.0
4.8
5.5
3.0
1.9
8.6
Aug 2016
5.4
5.7
5.4
4.0
3.5
5.4
Aug 2017
4.5
4.8
3.9
2.1
1.5
6.3
Aug 2018
4.3
3.3
5.3
1.8
7.4
6.2
Aug 2019
4.7
4.4
5.5
2.3
1.7
9.4
Aug 2020
8.4
8.8
8.2
5.8
5.4
11.8
Aug 2021
3.2
3.6
3.2
4.9
1.9
3.7
NOTE: Veterans are men and women who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Gulf War-era II veterans served on active duty anywhere in the world sometime since September 2001. A service-connected disability is a health condition or impairment caused or made worse by military service. The associated disability rating, which can range from 0 to 100 percent, is determined from a rating schedule published in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 38, Part 4. 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. Not all veterans report the presence of a service-connected disability or a disability rating.
For Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 60 percent or higher, the unemployment rate declined sharply to 3.7 percent. This rate was not statistically different than the rate of 4.9 percent for those with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent, which changed little over the year.
In August 2021, Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability continued to have a lower labor force participation rate (72.9 percent) than veterans from this period with no service-connected disability (84.3 percent).
Labor force participation rate for Gulf War-era II veterans by presence and degree of service-connected disability, August, 2011–2021
Month
Total, 18 years and over
Without a service-connected disability
With a service-connected disability
Less than 30 percent disability rating
30 to 50 percent disability rating
60 percent or higher disability rating
Aug 2011
81.5%
83.7%
80.0%
87.1%
92.2%
57.8%
Aug 2012
81.0
87.0
70.3
83.9
80.4
51.3
Aug 2013
78.5
85.4
70.5
88.7
69.4
53.9
Aug 2014
78.8
85.6
75.1
81.6
85.3
67.1
Aug 2015
82.0
87.3
73.2
77.1
91.1
62.3
Aug 2016
82.6
86.6
76.0
87.6
86.6
63.4
Aug 2017
80.7
85.5
75.8
91.6
86.9
61.7
Aug 2018
81.1
85.8
73.5
88.6
82.5
62.3
Aug 2019
79.8
84.8
72.7
92.2
84.7
61.2
Aug 2020
81.5
87.7
73.8
91.5
86.5
63.6
Aug 2021
79.2
84.3
72.9
94.4
82.5
63.8
NOTE: Veterans are men and women who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Gulf War-era II veterans served on active duty anywhere in the world sometime since September 2001. A service-connected disability is a health condition or impairment caused or made worse by military service. The associated disability rating, which can range from 0 to 100 percent, is determined from a rating schedule published in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 38, Part 4. 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. Not all veterans report the presence of a service-connected disability or a disability rating.
Gulf War-era II veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 60 percent or higher had a labor force participation rate of 63.8 percent in August 2021, much lower than the rate of 94.4 percent for those with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent. The labor force participation rates for both these groups changed little over the year.
Veterans 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.
United States Department of Labor
