Braxton Taylor
The unemployment rate for all veterans in November stood at a low 2.8% in another sign that veterans continue to excel in a consistently strong labor market that has withstood the buffeting of inflation, hurricanes and strikes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
In its monthly report on the nation’s employment situation, the BLS noted that the 2.8% jobless rate for veterans was exactly the same as the rate for veterans in November 2023 and was far better than the unemployment rate for the general population, which ticked up from 4.1% in October to 4.2% in November.
The subset of statistics for the post-9/11 generation of veterans showed their unemployment rate in November at 3.1%, which was down slightly from 3.2% in October. The 3.1% rate for post-9/11 veterans also was the same as their unemployment rate of 3.1% in November 2023.
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Overall, the latest BLS report showed the labor market making a strong rebound as the economy added 227,000 jobs in November, compared to the revised figure for payroll employment of 36,000 jobs added in October.
The jobs added were in health care, leisure and hospitality, government and social assistance, while retail trade lost jobs, the BLS report said. The 227,000 figure far exceeded the low growth in October when the economy suffered the effects of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the 40,000 jobs that were off the books during the strike at Boeing.
In reviewing the BLS report, Robert Frick, the corporate economist for Navy Federal Credit Union, cautioned that the numbers in the report can be volatile but said that the long-term trend for veterans in the labor market was positive. “The veterans job situation is good and stable” as of November 2024, Frick said in a phone interview.
“The labor market now is very stable” in a moderately expanding economy, Frick said, and for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, “we’re getting to normal now” in terms of the basics for the economy.
Even before the latest BLS report came out, leading economists were touting the strength of the jobs market and the economy. “The labor market remains solid, and inflation appears to be on a sustainable path to our 2% goal,” Adriana Kugler, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said Wednesday in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club.
The new data on the jobs market poses a challenge to the incoming Trump administration on maintaining job growth and the overall strength of the economy, according to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su.
“As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to hand off one of the strongest economies in history to the next administration, we do so having created millions of good-paying jobs, strengthened the middle class and ensured broad-based growth,” Su said in a statement.
“Wage growth continues to outpace inflation, with nominal wages increasing by 0.4% in November and annual growth of 4.0% over the past 12 months, which translates into most working Americans having more money in their pockets,” Su said.
Related: Veteran Employment Rate Remains Strong Even as Hurricane Fallout Batters Job Growth
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