May 30, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rates of veterans, 2005

In August 2005, the unemployment rate for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces was 3.9 percent. The rate for nonveterans was 4.7 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

The unemployment rate of male veterans (3.7 percent) was little different from the rate of nonveterans (4.4 percent) in August 2005. Among men 18 to 24 years old, however, veterans had a higher jobless rate than nonveterans (17.2 versus 10.4 percent). 

The unemployment rate of female veterans (5.9 percent) was about the same as that for nonveterans (5.0 percent).

The Current Population Survey is the source of these data. To learn more, see Employment Situation of Veterans: August 2005 (PDF) (TXT), USDL 06-897. The survey of veterans was conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau as a special supplement to the August 2005 Current Population Survey. The 2005 supplement was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service. These supplements have been conducted every two years since 1985.