The veteran unemployment rate in December slightly increased, resulting in a 3% unemployment rate among veterans trying to find full-time employment. However, it ultimately completed the year 2023 with its lowest monthly average in over two decades, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data. This rate was lower than November’s 2.8% and was under 3% for nine months since the start of 2023. It also came out as the lowest recorded December figure since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started publicizing data on veterans seeking employment from 2000.

Moreover, the veteran unemployment rate in 2023 had a monthly average of just below 2.8%, marking it as the lowest since 2000. Veteran unemployment rates have only gone below 3% thrice in the past 24 years, according to the Department of Labor. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this rate surged to above 11%.

Efforts to lower veteran unemployment have long been a focus among lawmakers. These efforts bore results as former military members consistently perform better in job searches compared to their civilian counterparts. Presently, however, 51% of veterans are unable to work due to age, health condition, or injury. Among the 8.7 million veterans participating in the workforce, veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, almost constitute half of the employed veterans.

The veteran population has been on a continuous decline in the past decade, from 21.3 million in 2014 to 17.7 million in 2023.