Unemployment jumps in December for young vets - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Unemployment jumps in December for young vets

Labor Department employment statistics released Friday show that young veterans continue to have serious and growing problems finding work in a tight job market, while older veterans are doing better than the general population.

The Jan. 7 release of December data shows the national unemployment rate fell slightly, from 9.8 percent in November to 9.4 percent in December, and that the unemployment rate for all veterans over the age of 18 remained steady, at 8.3 percent.

For younger veterans, the new report shows a dramatic increase in unemployment, from 9.4 percent in November to 11.7 percent in December. Over the last year, there have been wide month-to-month swings in the unemployment rate for people who had served since Sept. 11, 2001, believed to be partly due to the small sample size of veterans used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compile the report. Nonetheless, there has been a steady trend of younger veterans having a much higher rate of unemployment that the general population and older veterans.

Among young veterans, the unemployment rate was 11.8 percent for men and 10.9 percent for women in December, according to the report.

Overall, the U.S. economy created 103,000 jobs in December, with the leisure and hospitality industries accounting for 47,000 of the gain and health care providing 36,000 new jobs, according to a statement from Keith Hall, the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner.