US veteran unemployment rate below national average
The unemployment rate for America’s veterans increased slightly last month, but still remains lower than the national average.
According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday, the unemployment rate for America’s veterans was 3.4 percent in July. That compares with the overall U.S. unemployment rate, which sits at 3.7 percent – hovering at a multi-decade low.
The rate for vets is higher than it was one year ago, when it was just 3 percent. In July, it was also slightly higher for women veterans when compared with men, at 5 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.
Overall, about 316,000 vets were looking for work over the past four months.
The labor force participation rate in July among the country’s veterans was 49.4 percent, compared with 63 percent for overall U.S. population.
The U.S. added 164,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, which was largely in line with expectations. The economy is in the midst of the longest expansion on record.
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Meanwhile, President Trump has been touting a newly approved budget deal as a big win for the U.S. military and the country’s veterans.
The budget, which Trump signed on Friday, calls for an increase in defense spending for fiscal 2020 to $738 billion.
The funds are necessary, Trump said, because his administration has been “rebuilding” things previous presidents hadn’t “thought of,” in addition to adding the “greatest planes in the world, greatest missiles” and upgrading the U.S. nuclear arsenal.