One-third of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked in government in 2024

A total of 5.5 million veterans had a service-connected disability in August 2024. Many of these veterans worked in the public sector. In August 2024, 2.7 million veterans with a service-connected disability were employed; 36.5 percent of these employed veterans worked in federal, state, or local government. 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 service-connected disability and 2.1 percent of nonveterans.

In August 2024, 56.8 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the private sector, compared with 73.5 percent of veterans with no service-connected disability and 80.1 percent of nonveterans. Among unincorporated self-employed workers, the distribution of employed veterans with a service-connected disability (5.8 percent) was similar to that of veterans with no service-connected disability and nonveterans (5.3 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively).

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Employment Situation of Veterans — 2024.”

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. Ratings range from 0 percent to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage points, depending on the severity of the condition.

The self-employed shown here reflect people whose businesses are unincorporated. The unincorporated self-employed category includes a small number of unpaid family workers. As with most Current Population Survey estimates, the incorporated self-employed are included in private nonagricultural wage and salary workers.