Unemployment rate for Post-9/11 vets jumps in August

The unemployment rate for post-9/11-era veterans jumped noticeably in August, as employment for the nation and for veterans as a whole held steady, Labor Department data show.

Overall, the U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs in August, with the unemployment rate ticking down to 7.3 percent, from 7.4 percent in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate for vets of all generations similarly charted a slight decrease, from 6.4 percent in July to 6.2 percent in August. But unemployment for the post-9/11 generation increased from 7.7 percent in July to 10 percent last month.

Bureau statisticians caution against reading too much into any single month’s jobs report, particularly veterans jobs reports, which can fluctuate dramatically because of their small sample sizes.

“More than a single report, we know that too many post-9/11 veterans continue to struggle to find employment,” said Derek Bennett, chief of staff at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “We have made progress as a nation, but there is more we must do to support veterans’ transition from combat to career.”