As of this morning July 4th 2009 the returning veterans find a 14.1% unemployment rate has made known, at least on the Fox News Saturday version of "Fox and Friends." This is a critical problem facing those who have answered the call, to defend our nations policies in the far off places where we are at war. While most of our younger people chose college and career, many others have joined the Armed Forces and served this nation.

Very few people in the military or naval services, have any control of where they are stationed. The politicians have granted benefits for those who have served in a combat zone, but very little has been made available for those who remained stateside, or those stationed in non hostile positions on bases elsewhere on the globe. For example VA Healthcare is available for those who served for less than two years, if and only if, they were in OEF or OIF, not if only stationed stateside or Germany for example.

One place many returnees have suffered equally however is employment. In my profession as a veterans service officer, several of my clients have returned to find their jobs either gone, or they must pass a mental hygiene exam to be reemployed. So those who visited me were represented by AMVETS and regained their employment. Unfortunately many do not know of what we do as VSO's and simply become unemployed.

There are grants from the Department of Labor totaling more than $25 million, to provide approximately 15,000 veterans with job training to help them succeed in civilian careers. The grants are being awarded under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP). More information on the Department of Labor’s unemployment and re-employment programs for veterans can be found at http://www.dol.gov/vets/. It must be remembered this program focuses exclusively on employment of homeless veterans. Those others are left out of the funding.

The Department of Ohio AMVETS in the late 1990's established a program known as AMVETS Career Center to care for those who have served, here is a partial copy from the Ohio AMVETS web site:
AMVETS Career Centers, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation that provides career, training and employment assistance for veterans, active duty service members and members of the National Guard and Reserves who have served America honorably.

We provide a full-range of career services, including career assessment and exploration, training, licensing and certification assistance, resume writing and assistance with the job search process.

For more information about the services we offer to America’s present and past service members click here http://www.amvetscareercenter.org/

It is time the veterans organizations join together and take care of those who defend our nation in uniform, when the uniform comes off and the veteran returns to society where their peers who did not go have moved ahead.

I agree with your message, but you should have double checked the facts. If the facts are wrong people will use it as a way to try and dispute everything you say, or to say you can't be trusted. The work you are doing requires people be able to trust you.

Some areas may be facing 14.1% unemployment (some places maybe higher) but the national rate is 9.5%. That is also from Fox news (http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/economy-sheds--june-unemployment-rate-rises/).

Please keep up the good work of getting word out to vets on all benifits and programs available.

quote:

Originally posted by iamgonzo:
I agree with your message, but you should have double checked the facts. If the facts are wrong people will use it as a way to try and dispute everything you say, or to say you can't be trusted. The work you are doing requires people be able to trust you.

Some areas may be facing 14.1% unemployment (some places maybe higher) but the national rate is 9.5%. That is also from Fox news (http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/economy-sheds--june-unemployment-rate-rises/).

Please keep up the good work of getting word out to vets on all benifits and programs available.

Thank you for your response. It is appreciated. Please note in my quote it is "returning veterans find a 14.1% unemployment rate" that is the thesis of the article.

quote:

As of this morning July 4th 2009 the returning veterans find a 14.1% unemployment rate has made known, at least on the Fox News Saturday version of "Fox and Friends." This is a critical problem facing those who have answered the call, to defend our nations policies in the far off places where we are at war. While most of our younger people chose college and career, many others have joined the Armed Forces and served this nation.

The quote you are making is the nations general population unemplyment rate. My article is the returning veterans unemployment rate.

My article is dealing with veteran issues. Veterans historically have been excluded for statistical purposes.

Fox Business News release:
The U.S. economy lost more than 460,000 jobs in June, despite a $787 billion stimulus plan signed into law earlier this year and recent general discussion that this economy was beginning to turnaround.

U.S. Labor Department said Thursday employers shed 467,000 non-farm jobs last month. The loss brings the nation’s unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage point to 9.5% --the highest level in nearly 26 years.

Example:

Veteran to receive $118,000 in back pay, damages as result of U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service investigation
DETROIT —In a settlement filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Ecolab Inc. has agreed to pay $118,000 to a returning Iraq war veteran to resolve a Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) complaint investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS).

Following the Labor Department's investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against Ecolab in the same court, alleging that Ecolab violated USERRA by failing or refusing to promptly reemploy Michigan veteran Stephen Alasin upon his return from military service. The Department of Justice also entered into a consent decree with Ecolab, which was subsequently accepted by the court, under which Alasin will receive $88,000 in back pay and $30,000 in damages.

"It is important for all employers to realize that the Labor Department is here to protect the employment and reemployment rights of American service members," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "We owe these brave Americans every protection when they return from their military obligations."

USERRA was enacted in 1994 to protect service members from being disadvantaged in their civilian careers due to serving in the uniformed services. Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the U.S. military be reemployed by their civilian employers in the same positions or comparable positions when they return.

Information on veterans' employment or reemployment rights is available at www.dol.gov/vets or by calling the Department of Labor's toll-free helpline at 866-4USA-DOL (487-2365).

Obvious to me, the companies do not always follow the rule. I may be redundant, but here it is again USERRA was enacted in 1994 to protect service members from being disadvantaged in their civilian careers due to serving in the uniformed services. Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the U.S. military be reemployed by their civilian employers in the same positions or comparable positions when they return.

I now I see what you are talking about. The wording isn't very clear. May I suggest "Returning vets have a 14.1% unemployment rate".

The way it is currently worded makes it sound (at least to me) is they are coming back and looking for jobs in a area with 14.1% unemployment.

Maybe the Thesis could start "While most Americans have a 9.5% unemployment rate, returning vets have a 14.1% unemployment rate."

I didn't think the headline was unclear.

I'm still unemployed after six months home from the Army. I'm starting a graduate certificate program in August, though, that'll give me another year to look, plus additional certification.

quote:

Originally posted by Ruanne:
I didn't think the headline was unclear.

I'm still unemployed after six months home from the Army. I'm starting a graduate certificate program in August, though, that'll give me another year to look, plus additional certification.

Thanks for serving. Wish you the best of luck with the program and with finding a job. Don't forget to use every resource you can find.

What area are you in? Both geographically and career/education wise.

quote:

Originally posted by iamgonzo:

quote:

Originally posted by Ruanne:
I didn't think the headline was unclear.

I'm still unemployed after six months home from the Army. I'm starting a graduate certificate program in August, though, that'll give me another year to look, plus additional certification.

Thanks for serving. Wish you the best of luck with the program and with finding a job. Don't forget to use every resource you can find.

What area are you in? Both geographically and career/education wise.

May I suggest the health care field. Do not go the alternate certification route for teaching. At one time it was a good way to go, but not at the moment. Right now many are jumping on that bandwagon and it is flooded (and not only in Texas). If you do have a calling to be a teacher go the traditional route as you will have a much better chance of landing a good job.

quote:

Originally posted by iamgonzo:

quote:

Originally posted by Ruanne:
I didn't think the headline was unclear.

I'm still unemployed after six months home from the Army. I'm starting a graduate certificate program in August, though, that'll give me another year to look, plus additional certification.

Thanks for serving. Wish you the best of luck with the program and with finding a job. Don't forget to use every resource you can find.

What area are you in? Both geographically and career/education wise.

I have a BA in Linguistics. My military experience was in military intelligence. I'm going for further certification in Geographic Information Systems, as the opportunities for people with a military intelligence background are slim to done outside of DC and a few select locations. FBI, for some reason, is not interested. I hold out hope that someday I'll answer an announcement and they'll hire me, but that looks like it will be a matter of years rather than months at this rate.

Surprise?

OEF/OIF returnees were having unemployment problem in early 2008 according to a CBS news release

April 10, 2008 7:09 PM
Vet Unemployment Rates

Posted by Pia Malbran
(CBS/AP)The U.S. Department of Labor released new figures today showing the unemployment rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The data shows in 2007 veterans who have served since September 2001 had an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent while the rate for non-veterans stood at 4.4 percent.

When the data is broken down by age, it shows Iraq and Afghanistan veterans between the ages of 18 to 24 had the highest rate of unemployment at 12 percent. For non-veterans the same age the rate was 9.5 percent.

For more go to the article

>www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/04/10/primarysource/entry4008032.shtml<

quote:

Originally posted by Ruanne:

I have a BA in Linguistics. My military experience was in military intelligence. I'm going for further certification in Geographic Information Systems, as the opportunities for people with a military intelligence background are slim to done outside of DC and a few select locations. FBI, for some reason, is not interested. I hold out hope that someday I'll answer an announcement and they'll hire me, but that looks like it will be a matter of years rather than months at this rate.

Don't know of anyone looking for people in your field, sure wish I did. Not that I have contacts at a great number of places.

Best of luck.

quote:

Originally posted by iamgonzo:
I agree with your message, but you should have double checked the facts. If the facts are wrong people will use it as a way to try and dispute everything you say, or to say you can't be trusted. The work you are doing requires people be able to trust you.

Some areas may be facing 14.1% unemployment (some places maybe higher) but the national rate is 9.5%. That is also from Fox news (http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/economy-sheds--june-unemployment-rate-rises/).

Please keep up the good work of getting word out to vets on all benifits and programs available.

The "official" unemployment rate only counts those receiving unemployment with a fudge factor. I believe, nationally, it's somewhere aroung 14 or so percent. Too high.
Unfortunately, with all the economic nonsense, cap and trade, for one, unfortunately, the unempolyment rate will return to a range of 6 to 8% in the best of times.

But, here's my concern for economic growth which will not happen for the foreseeable future, therefore no respite for the unemployed, is how do you pay for a 2 trillion dollar debt? How do you finance this sum of debt?

1) Lower equity rates - meaning the stock market takes another hit,
2) Print money - which means the dollar as a reserve currency is trashed. Cheapening the dollar will result in its devaluation, those financing the debt (China, for one) begins to pull its paper. This inevitably results in a panic sell of U.S. debt on the open market. And, then who would buy that debt? No-one.

Then comes the last nail in the coffin. How do we finance our national defense? If we need to go to war, on a scale not seen since WW2, how do we finance, but more importantly, our industry has been eviscerated, to the point we can't build anymore.

This is why our folks are returning and future will return to a more weak economy, and worse, an economy which can no longer produce an increased standard of living!

I now get off my soap box.

Hi Dave.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Devil_Doggie,

OK, instead of leaving it hang right here, what are Devil’s solutions to this state of affairs.

1) Rebuild our national manufacturing base. This is accomplished by eliminating corporate income taxes and establishing a VAT which favors domestic production. Cheap imports will be subject to a higher VAT than domestic products, thus favoring our own manufacturing base. High paying manufacturing and technical jobs will migrate back.

2) OK, I give into (somewhat) this green energy nonsense and still am convinced that this global warming baloney is manufactured just to add another level of tax, called the carbon tax (cap and trade). Fine, we continue to develop alt fuel and energy sources. But, really people, we need the power and the efficiency of fossil fuels to respark our own domestic manufacturing. Solar, wind, wave, fine and dandy. But, we cannot conserve our way into prosperity.

3) Cut the budget by ½. Painful as it sounds it sends a message to the remainder of the world that we are serious about getting our fiscal house in order. The reason why we were the reserve currency is that we had a manufacturing base. Once lost, what is our currency based on? Not Gold, so it has to be our manufacturing strength.

(I will elaborate on #2 more in a later post. H E double 1's I'll do it now. We need to build out first urban systems of transit. Second, the development of a high speed mag-lev system on a continenatal scale. But done with private funds, not public. Encourage this Eurpoean style transit Inter City system by ceasing to subsidize air travel, which we do to a tune of billions per year.)
This time, honest, I’m off my soapbox.

The reality is that your suggestions will not happen. Even if some where to take place, the time to make a employment difference is greater than one year.

There was a disconnect between off shoring jobs and losing consumers. It took years for the effect to be felt.

None of this solves the issue at hand. We have too many veterans out of work. And the society needs to address this issue. It is not just a government problem. Employers have to hold a hand out to our veterans and offer them a chance to return to the work force. The DOD, DOL and other agencies need to create a stronger uniform to civilian employment program for where are a good candidate. The program should recruit those who are close to ETS and offer them training and employment. This program should have recruiting fairs on major bases. DOD and DHS should fill as many of their positions at the entry level via this method.

Dave, I reluctantly agree with you, re: suggestions will never take place. I think it's too late, the handwriting on the wall. I don;t know who and maybe I should don my tin foil hat, but I think there's been a concerted effort to destroy the U.S. by financial means.

Me thinks, I have been suspicious of this whole bail out mess. It's giving the remainder of the wealth to those who I believe purposely perpetrated - cause this. I can show you entire neighborhoods in the bay area that are becoming ghost towns. Dave, California is crashing. I cannot believe this but the handwriting is on the wall.

I can see no other reality other than an inflated, worthless currency and the U.S. economically destroyed, and within the next 5 years. This will be quick and severe. It'll be up to us to pick up the pieces and try to piece together a country. I really don;t know Dave.

Maybe we can refashion a country closer to what our founding fathers envisioned after it all fails.

This is an general economic issue which affects vets even moreso. Make work only goes so far. But each and evry one it can provide a job matters to that vet, if you get what I mean.

Forgive my negative outlook. I think I woke up on the wrong side. And, then I read the Chronicle and it, wellm too me into a pessimistic mood.