PHOENIX — Economic uncertainty is at the forefront of most people's minds. But there is some good news in the mess.
According to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), unemployment rates for Arizona veterans are the lowest they've been in the last 10 years.
The survey focused on veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time since September 2001, a group also known as Gulf War-era II veterans. And the findings were good.
Arizona has roughly 210,000 veterans in the state's labor force, with 226,000 that are not considered part of the labor force. Only around 7,000 Arizona veterans were considered unemployed.
That means that in 2022, the veteran unemployment rate fell to a 10-year low of 3.2%. That's a stark drop from the COVID-19 pandemic's high of 9.1%.
But even before the pandemic, rates hovered around 4-5%.
Previously, unemployment rates bottomed out at 3.7% in 2015. But in 2013 and 2014, those rates were as high as 5.8% and 5.7% respectively.
"Employed Gulf War-era II veteran men were more likely to work in management, professional, and related occupations than employed non-veteran men (43 percent and 40 percent, respectively), while these veterans were less likely to work in sales and office occupations than their
non-veteran counterparts (12 percent and 14 percent, respectively)," the report noted.
"Employed Gulf War-era II veteran women were less likely to work in service occupations than their non-veteran counterparts (13 percent and 19 percent, respectively)."
According to the BLS, the unemployment rate for all veterans (2.8%) was lower than the national rate for non-veterans (3.6%).
You can click here to read the full report.
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