Veterans and Unemployment

Companies will be able to receive tax credit when they choose to hire veterans with the new tax credit amendment. This will help military veterans all over the United States who are in need of employment. While the unemployment rate is typically high in most cities due to the recession and the downward spiral of the economy, it is the veterans who are truly suffering and tend to have a higher unemployment rate than the average person.

There are several reasons why it may be harder for veterans to find jobs as civilians. It can be hard for veterans to make the transition to civilian life from military life. This transition may be a challenge for some veterans. When the veterans return to their hometown, jobs may be scarce especially due to the economy. It ultimately depends on where the veteran lives. Some veterans will return to civilian life as a disabled individual, which will make finding an available job even more difficult.

Some companies and employers have explained that turning skills that a veteran has learned from the military can be challenging when attempting to use those skills for a regular civilian job. Because it can be a challenge, certain companies and employees tend to avoid hiring veterans, which can be very unfair especially for those who have served the country and deserve help when needed.

A woman who has spent a lot of her time helping veterans find and keep employment, Emily King, says that the problem is, many companies and employees want to hire veterans. They think that hiring veterans is the right thing to do and claim that they truly want to make sure veterans are employed by their different companies. However, when it comes down to it, these companies tend to be more mouth and less action because they are not hiring many veterans or searching for the skills that these veterans have learned in the military.

Another major problem, King says, is that a veteran resume may look very different when compared to the average persons resume. A military resume will consist of tons of different military related information that civilians may not necessarily understand or figure out how those skills will help the veterans with civilian jobs. King says, “If an employer sees that an applicant drove a tank, it’s easy to say, ‘Well we don’t have tanks, so that experience has no applicability to what we do.’” She also says, “What they don’t realize is the level of technical skill that is required to drive that tank.”

The tax credit amendment has not been passed yet but if it is passed and accepted, companies would receive around $5,600 when they hire veterans who were seeking employment for the past six months with no luck. These companies will receive three thousand more dollars if they hire veterans who have been unemployed for longer than six months. This is a basic win-win situation because the companies will receive extra money on their part and the veterans will receive necessary employment.