In 2010, the unemployment rate of post-2001 veterans was 11.5% – including 20.9% among vets age 18-24 – well higher than the national 9.1%. Because of this, President Obama has called for two new tax credits: One would provide an incentive for companies to hire unemployed veterans, and the second would double an existing tax credit for hiring long-term unemployed veterans who have service-related disabilities.
“That’s the least we can do; we need to do much more. Many didn’t quite understand that they would be serving for three or four tours, and it’s had a devastating impact,” Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said at a recent press event in Washington, D.C.
