States Try to Help Veterans Find Jobs

1
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, visiting troops in Afghanistan recently, was taken aback by the answer he got when he asked a soldier suiting up to go on patrol what concerned him most."He didn't say he was most worried about facing the enemy that night," Nixon said last month. "He looked me in the eyes and said, 'Governor, I'm worried about whether there will be a job for me when I get home.'

In an article by Pamela M. Prah of The Bellingham Herald, Nixon went on to say, "There's good reason for that soldier to be worried. The unemployment rate for veterans who have served in the military since 2001 is 11.5 percent, higher than the national average, which is now 8.3 percent.

But the situation is much bleaker for veterans aged 18 to 24 - they averaged a staggering 30 percent unemployment rate in 2011, according to unpublished data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With U.S combat troops slated to leave Afghanistan next year and U.S. forces already out of Iraq, states are preparing to welcome back a large number of returning troops, many of whom will be seeking work.

Nixon was among several governors who used recent state of the state addresses to outline plans to help make it easier for veterans to find jobs. "Every veteran who needs a job should be able to get one," Nixon said.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/02/08/2384867/states-try-to-help-veterans-find.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy
1