The Veteran Employer-Employee Push

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 95 views 

From government programs to major employers, such as Wal-Mart, one of the hottest employment groups today is our nation’s veterans.

After service to country, there are a number of new resources and opportunities for veterans who want to open or join a business.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

  • 9% of small businesses are veteran-owned
  • There are 2.45 million veteran-owned businesses
  • They employ more than 5 million workers

But unemployment among veterans is not as problematic as the state or national jobless rate. In April, U.S. unemployment hovered at 7.5%, while the state rate fell to 7.1%.

The unemployment rate for the nation’s veterans was 6.2% in April. Among Gulf War-era II veterans it was 7.5%. For Gulf War I veterans it was 5.5% and among WWII, Korean War and Vietnam-era veterans, it was 7%.

Linda Nelson, Arkansas District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, sat down for a Memorial Day conversation about the programs that exist to draw veterans into the workforce as small business owners and top employee recruits.