Monthly Labor Review • July 2010 3

Recent Veterans’ Employment and Earnings

Employment and earnings of recent 

veterans: data from the CPS

James A. Walker

James A. Walker is an economist 

in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Office of Employment and 

Unemployment Statistics, Bureau 

of Labor Statistics. Email: walker.

james@bls.gov

Recent male veterans and male nonveterans ages 18 to 54 years

had similar unemployment rates in 2009, and earnings

of full-time male veterans and nonveterans were likewise

similar; by contrast, the unemployment rate of recent female

veterans was higher than that of female nonveterans

Since the September 2001 terrorist 

attacks in the United States, about 

1.9 million men and women have returned to civilian life after having served on 

active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. These 

recent veterans, also known as Gulf War-era 

II veterans, currently are experiencing labor 

market conditions at home that include high 

unemployment rates and competition for 

jobs.1

 This article examines the demographic 

characteristics, labor force activity, and earnings of recent veterans and nonveterans.

The data presented are from the Current 

Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample 

survey of 60,000 households that provides official statistics about civilian employment and 

unemployment in the United States. The CPS

is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS, the Bureau) by the U.S. Census Bureau.2

 Data about veteran status (that is, 

whether a person is or is not a veteran) and period of service are collected each month in the 

CPS, and annual averages are published each 

year in the news release “Employment Situation of Veterans.”3

 The 2009 annual averages, 

selected 2007 and 2008 annual averages, and 

data from the August 2009 CPS supplement 

on veterans are discussed in what follows.

In the CPS, veterans are defined as men

and women who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were 

civilians at the time of the survey.4

 Members of the Reserve and National Guard 

are counted as veterans if, when they were 

surveyed, they were civilians and they responded that they had been called to active 

duty sometime in the past. Nonveterans are 

men and women who have never served on 

active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.5

Demographic characteristics

The underlying demographic characteristics 

of Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans are different in many ways, including 

sex, age, race and ethnicity, and educational 

attainment. (See table 1.) These differences 

complicate making comparisons between 

the two groups.

Most Gulf War-era II veterans are men. 

In 2009, 1.6 million men (82 percent of all 

Gulf War-era II veterans) had served in the 

Armed Forces sometime since September 

2001 and had returned to civilian life. A 

much smaller number were women: about 

300,000, or 18 percent of all Gulf War-era 

II veterans. In contrast, the nonveteran population had a greater percentage of women 

(56 percent) than men (44 percent) in 2009.
Recent Veterans’ Employment and Earnings

4 Monthly Labor Review • July 2010

Gulf War-era II veterans were relatively young: in 

2009, 18- to 54-year-olds accounted for 95 percent of 

all Gulf War-era II veterans, whereas that same age 

group made up about 7 in 10 nonveterans. Among 

recent veterans, 63 percent of men and 72 percent of 

women were under the age of 35, compared with 37 

percent of nonveteran men and 29 percent of nonveteran women.

Gulf war-era II veterans were more likely to be 

White (79 percent) than Black (15 percent) or Asian 

(2 percent). Ten percent of these veterans were of Hispanic ethnicity. In contrast, the nonveteran population contained a smaller proportion of Blacks and a larger proportion 

of Hispanics: 12 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

There were noteworthy differences in educational attainment between Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans 

in 2009. Gulf War-era II veterans were more likely to have 

some college but no degree (33 percent) than were nonveterans (19 percent). Also, veterans from Gulf War era II were 

much less likely to be high school dropouts (2 percent) than 

were nonveterans (14 percent). About one-fourth of recent 

veterans had a college degree, as did a similar fraction of 

nonveterans.

The educational attainment of recent veterans rose significantly with age. Older Gulf War-era II veterans had more 

education than younger veterans in 2009. Few Gulf War-era 

II veterans 18 to 24 years had a college degree, because they 

were on active duty during some of these early years of their 

adult lives. In 2009, 31 percent of young veterans 18 to 24 

years were enrolled in school. Older Gulf War-era II veterans 

may have earned their college degrees before joining the military or may have finished their degrees while in the military 

or following discharge. A look at the percentages reveals that 

about 19 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds had a college degree, 

compared with 35 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds and 38 percent of 45- to 54-year-olds.

Labor force

Almost 84 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans 18 years 

and older participated in the labor force sometime in 2009, 

compared with 68.3 percent of nonveterans.6

 Much of this 

difference has to do with the fact that Gulf War-era II veterans tend to be younger than nonveterans. People 18 to 54 

years typically have higher labor force participation rates than 

those 55 years and older. In 2009, Gulf War-era II veterans 

18 to 54 years had a labor force participation rate of 84.1 percent, while those 55 years and older had a participation rate 

of 72.0 percent. Since almost all Gulf War-era II veterans in 

the labor force (96 percent) were 18 to 54 years, the discussion that follows will focus on this group of veterans and their 

nonveteran counterparts, except where otherwise noted.

The employed

In 2009, 1.4 million recent veterans (1.2 million men and 

more than 200,000 women) 18 to 54 years were employed. 

Men were nearly 85 percent of employed veterans and 

about half of nonveterans. The following tabulation of the 

employment-population ratio (the employed as a percent of 

the population) of those 18 to 54 years shows that a greater 

Demographic profile of Gulf War-era II 

veterans and nonveterans ages 18 years 

and older, 2009 annual averages

Characteristic Gulf War-era II 

Veterans Nonveterans

 Total................................ 100 100

Age

18 to 54 years.......................... 95 71

 18 to 24 years........................ 16 14

 25 to 34 years........................ 49 19

 35 to 44 years........................ 16 19

 45 to 54 years........................ 14 20

55 years and older................. 5 29

Sex

Men............................................. 82 44

Women...................................... 18 56

Race

White.......................................... 79 81

Black or African American... 15 12

Asian........................................... 2 5

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino.................. 10 15

Non-Hispanic, non-Latino... 90 85

Educational attainment

Less than a high school

 diploma..................................

2 14

High school graduate, no

 college ....................................

29 31

Some college or associate’s

 degree.....................................

46 28

 Some college, no degree .. 33 19

 Associate’s degree ............... 13 9

College graduate ................... 23 27

NOTE: Data for the race groups shown do not sum to 100 percent 

because not all races are presented. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

Table 1.

[Percent of the population]
Monthly Labor Review • July 2010 5

percentage of recent veterans (75.4 percent) than nonveterans (71.7 percent) were employed:

 Percentage-point

 Veteran status change,

 and sex 2007 2008 2009 2007-09

Gulf War-era II

 veterans:

 Total ...................... 82.1 79.2 75.4 –6.7

 Men..................... 85.1 82.2 77.5 –7.6

 Women................ 67.2 66.0 66.4 –.8

Nonveterans:

 Total ...................... 76.3 75.3 71.7 –4.6

 Men..................... 83.0 81.4 76.4 –6.6

 Women................ 70.2 69.8 67.4 –2.8

The greater employment of veterans reflects, in part, the 

larger proportion of men in the veteran population, given 

that men tend to be employed at greater rates than women.

Since the start of the recession in 2007 and through 2009, 

the employment-population ratio declined for both Gulf 

War-era II veterans and nonveterans. However, the decline 

was greatest among veterans, especially male veterans.

The following tabulation of the occupational distribution (occupation as a percent of total employed) of 

employed persons 18 to 54 years, by veteran status, occupation, and sex in 2009, shows that there was little difference in occupational distribution between veterans and 

nonveterans of the same sex: 

 Gulf War-era II 

 veterans Nonveterans

 Occupation Men Women Men Women

Management, professional,

 and related. ......................... 31 44 33 41

 Management, business,

 and financial operations.... 14 14 16 14

 Professional and related...... 17 30 17 27

Service .................................. 18 21 15 22

 Protective service ................ 10 6 3 1

Sales and office ..................... 16 29 17 32

Natural resources, 

 construction, and

 maintenance ....................... 18 1 18 1

Production, transportation,

 and material moving........... 17 4 17 5

One major exception was in service occupations: male 

veterans (10 percent) were more than 3 times as likely to 

be employed in protective service occupations than were 

male nonveterans (3 percent).7

Another major difference was that Gulf War-era II 

veterans were almost twice as likely to be government 

workers as were nonveterans of comparable ages (18 to 

54 years). Among employed veterans in this group, 26 

percent worked in the government at the Federal, State, 

or local level in 2009, compared with 14 percent of nonveterans. About one-third of female veterans worked in 

government in 2009, as did 25 percent of male veterans. 

For nonveterans, the proportions were 18 percent and 11 

percent, respectively. Three percent of Gulf War-era II 

veterans were self-employed, compared with 6 percent of 

nonveterans.8

Unemployment rate

One measure of how a population is faring in the labor 

market is the unemployment rate, which is the proportion of the labor force that is currently not working but 

is actively seeking a job and is available to take one. In 

2009, the unemployment rate for Gulf War-era II veterans between the ages of 18 and 54 years was 10.3 percent, 

only slightly different from the rate for nonveterans in the 

same age group (9.6 percent).

As the following tabulation of the unemployed as a 

percent of the labor force shows, unemployment rates of 

both Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans have risen 

since the start of the recession in 2007, reflecting the deteriorating economic conditions: 

 Percentage-point

 Veteran status change,

 and sex 2007 2008 2009 2007-09

Gulf War-era II veterans:

 Total.............................. 6.1 7.5 10.3 4.2

 Men............................ 5.6 7.2 10.1 4.5

 Women....................... 9.3 9.1 11.3 2.0

Nonveterans:

 Total ............................. 4.7 5.9 9.6 4.9

 Men............................ 4.8 6.4 10.9 6.1

 Women ....................... 4.5 5.5 8.3 3.8

From 2007 to 2009, unemployment rates for men rose 

more than for women, regardless of veteran status.

As with other measures, the slight difference in total 

unemployment rates of Gulf War-era II veterans and 

nonveterans can be partially explained by the different demographic compositions of the two groups. Men 

were a large majority (82 percent) of all Gulf War-era II 

veterans ages 18 to 54 years, but made up about half (48 

percent) of all nonveterans. In 2009, the unemployment 

rate of all men ages 18 to 54 years (10.9 percent) was 

higher than that of all women in the same age group (8.3 
Recent Veterans’ Employment and Earnings

6 Monthly Labor Review • July 2010

percent; the rates were the same as those for nonveteran 

men and women, respectively). The higher proportion of 

men among the veteran population partially explains the 

overall higher unemployment rate for veterans compared 

with nonveterans. Furthermore, Gulf War-era II veterans 

were younger than nonveterans, on average, and many 

Gulf War-era II veterans were in younger age ranges (see 

table 1) with higher unemployment rates.9

Earnings

Earnings are another measure of success in the labor 

market.10 As with the analysis of labor force activity, the 

earnings data presented are for individuals 18 to 54 years. 

However, the analysis is limited to men, because there 

were not enough female Gulf War-era II veterans in 2009 

to analyze the earnings data for that group.

Among full-time workers, there was little difference between the median weekly earnings of male Gulf War-era II 

veterans and nonveterans in 2009. Recent veterans earned 

$796 per week, compared with $786 for nonveterans.11

In 2009, men working full time in government jobs 

earned more than their counterparts in the private sector, 

regardless of veteran status. (See chart 1.) Male Gulf Warera II veterans employed in government earned $866 per 

week, while those employed in the private sector earned 

$760. Among nonveteran men, those working in government earned $927 per week, compared with $765 per week 

for those employed in the private sector. It is important to 

note that individuals’ earnings are influenced by a variety 

of factors, such as educational attainment, age, occupation, 

industry, firm size, geographic location, and job tenure.

Special categories of veterans 

Additional information about veterans is available from 

the CPS through a supplemental survey that is cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the 

U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and 

Training Service. This survey has been conducted every 

other year since 1985, and the most recent data are from 

August 2009.12 The supplement contains questions about 

service-connected disabilities and Reserve or National 

Guard status.

Data from the CPS veterans supplement show that, in 

August 2009, 71.0 percent of disabled veterans ages 18 

years and older who served in Gulf War era II were employed, compared with 76.1 percent of veterans from that 

 Chart 1. Median weekly earnings of male Gulf War-era II veterans and nonveterans

Government Private sector

Dollars

$1,100

1,000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

 Dollars

NOTE: Earnings shown are for full-time wage and salary workers.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, annual averages, 2009.

Male Gulf War-era II veterans, ages 18–54 years

Male nonveterans, ages 18–54 years

$1,100

1,000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Monthly Labor Review • July 2010 7

era who did not have any disability.13 About 3 of 10 veterans ages 18 years and older held a job with Federal, State, 

or local government, regardless of their disability status.14

The August 2009 supplement also collected information about Gulf War-era II veterans’ membership in the 

Reserve or National Guard. About 34 percent of these 

veterans ages 18 years and older indicated that they 

were current or past members. This group had an unemployment rate of 10.6 percent. The 46 percent of Gulf 

War-era II veterans ages 18 years and older who never 

participated in the Reserve or National Guard had an 

unemployment rate of 13.8 percent. (About 20 percent 

of recent veterans did not report their Reserve or National Guard status.) The lower unemployment rate for 

recent veterans who are current or past members of the 

Reserve or National Guard may be influenced by the fact 

that some returned to the same job they held before going on active duty.15

THERE IS CONSIDERABLE INTEREST in demographic 

and employment characteristics of recent veterans and in 

how veterans are faring in the current labor market. Demographic and labor market data from the CPS provide 

useful information about this group. In using these data, 

it is best to compare veterans and nonveterans of the same 

age and sex groups, because of differences in demographic 

characteristics of the Gulf War-era II veteran and nonveteran populations.

Gulf War-era II veterans are more likely than nonveterans to be men and to be between the ages of 18 and 54 

years. The 2009 CPS data show that the unemployment 

rates of recent male veterans and male nonveterans ages 

18 to 54 years were about the same. However, the unemployment rate of recent female veterans was higher than 

that of female nonveterans in 2009. Male veterans and 

nonveterans were equally likely to be employed, as were 

female veterans and nonveterans.

There was little difference in the earnings of male Gulf 

War-era II veterans and nonveterans in 2009. Among 

wage and salary workers, men had higher earnings if they 

worked in the public sector than in the private sector, regardless of their veteran status. However, male veterans 

working in government had somewhat lower earnings 

than did male nonveterans in 2009.

As of August 2009, 71.0 percent of Gulf War-era II 

veterans with a service-connected disability held a job; 

about 3 of 10 of these disabled veterans worked for the 

government. Current or past members of the Reserve or 

National Guard who served on active duty sometime since 

September 2001 had an unemployment rate of 10.6 percent, compared with 13.8 percent for those veterans who 

never participated in the Reserve or National Guard.

Notes

1 Gulf War era II began in September 2001 and continues through 

the present. The designation “Gulf War era II” was developed in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.

2 More information about the CPS is available on the BLS Web site 

at www.bls.gov/cps (visited July 20, 2010).

3 The 2009 news release is available on the Internet at www.bls.

gov/schedule/archives/all_nr.htm#VET (visited July 20, 2010).

4 For more information about how veteran status is determined, 

see the section entitled “CPS questions that determine veteran status” 

in the appendix.

5 All references to the U.S. population in this article are to the civilian noninstitutional population. Therefore, active-duty members of 

the military, as well as individuals residing in places such as prisons, 

hospitals, and mental institutions, are excluded.

6 The labor force participation rate measures the proportion of 

the civilian noninstitutional population that is either employed or 

unemployed.

7 Protective service, a subset of service occupations, includes, among 

others, police and sheriffs’ patrol officers; security guards and gaming 

surveillance officers; and bailiffs, correctional officers, and jailers.

8 In this article, the term “self-employed” refers to the unincorporated self-employed. Incorporated self-employed veterans are considered wage and salary workers.

9 In 2009, 161,000 recent veterans ages 18 to 54 years were unemployed, of whom 31 percent were ages 18 to 24 years and more than 50 

percent were ages 25 to 34 years. The unemployment rate for those ages 

18 to 24 years was 21.1 percent, while the rate for those ages 25 to 34 

years was 10.6 percent. Among unemployed nonveterans ages 18 to 54 

years, 25 percent were ages 18 to 24 years and 28 percent were ages 25 

to 34 years. The unemployment rates for these nonveteran groups were 

16.6 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.

10 Earnings data from the CPS are collected from one-quarter of 

the CPS monthly sample. In other words, each month, individuals living in households that have been in the survey for either 4 or 8 months 

are asked about earnings on their primary job. These month-in-sample 

groups are sometimes referred to as outgoing rotation groups, and earnings are tabulated for wage and salary workers only. Thus, earnings data 

exclude both the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed, as 

well as unpaid family workers. The earnings data presented here are for 

workers on their full-time jobs (at least 35 hours per week).

11 The difference in their earnings is not statistically significant.

12 Supplemental questions about veterans were again asked together with the CPS in July 2010. The data from these questions will 

be published in early 2011 in the “Employment Situation of Veter-
Recent Veterans’ Employment and Earnings

8 Monthly Labor Review • July 2010

ans” news release, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/

all_nr.htm#VET (visited July 20, 2010).

13 See “Employment Situation of Veterans—2009,” table 5, “Employment status of veterans 18 years and over by presence of serviceconnected disability, reported disability rating, period of service, and 

sex, August 2009, not seasonally adjusted,” on the Internet at www.bls.

gov/news.release/archives/vet_03122010.pdf (visited July 20, 2010).

14 “Employment Situation of Veterans—2009,” table 6, “Employed 

persons 18 years and over by veteran status, presence of service-connected disability, period of service, and class of worker, August 2009, 

not seasonally adjusted.”

15 The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights 

Act (USERRA) of 1994 requires employers to reemploy returning reservists or Guard members who were called to active duty. (For more 

information about the Act, see “Job Rights for Veterans and Reserve 

Component Members: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA 38 U.S.C. 4301–4335)” in Program Highlights: Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (Department 

of Labor, no date), on the Internet at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/

userra/userra_fs.htm (visited July 20, 2010). 

The CPS was designed to produce timely monthly estimates 

of employment and unemployment at the national level. The 

survey was established in 1940, just before the United States 

entered World War II. After the war ended, the CPS provided 

data on the postservice adjustment of male veterans into the 

civilian labor force in the 1940s and 1950s.1 Similarly, during 

the Vietnam era, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published quarterly CPS data about male veterans of that era, beginning with 

data from the first quarter of 1969.2 Later, the Bureau published 

these Vietnam-era data monthly. CPS data about female veterans 

were first collected and became available as of January 1986, 

reflecting the growing number of women who had served in the 

military.3 Following renewed military action in the Persian Gulf 

area and troop deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq, in 2006 the 

Bureau began publishing labor force statistics for veterans of 

the Gulf War era, which includes Gulf War era I (August 1990 

through August 2001) and Gulf War era II (September 2001 

to the present).4

CPS questions identifying veteran status

In the CPS, veteran status is obtained from responses to two 

questions. The first is “Did you ever serve on active duty in the 

U.S. Armed Forces?” If the response is “yes,” the person is asked, 

“Are you still in the Armed Forces?” Answers of “yes” to the first 

question and “no” to the second question identify the individual 

as a veteran. Veterans are not on active duty at the time of the 

survey.

In the CPS, the following individuals are considered as having served on active duty:

•	 Members of the U.S Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Navy. 

•	 Members of the Reserve or National Guard whose unit 

was called to active duty by Presidential order. 

•	 U.S. officers commissioned by the Public Health Service 

and assigned to any branch of the Armed Services.

•	 Cadets in a U.S. military academy (Air Force Academy, 

Coast Guard Academy, Naval Academy, or West Point).

These individuals do not qualify as having served on active duty:

•	 Members of the National Guard or Reserve serving only 

for training.

•	 Members of the National Guard or Reserve called into 

action without a Presidential order for help in a local disaster such as a flood, tornado, or riot.

•	 Civilian employees of the Department of Defense, Merchant Marine, or Maritime Commission.

CPS question identifying period of service

The question “When did you serve on active duty in the U.S. 

Armed Forces?” asked only of veterans, is used to identify the 

following periods of service:

Period Timeframe

Gulf War era II September 2001–present

Gulf War era I August 1990–August 2001

Vietnam era August 1964–April 1975

Korean War July 1950–January 1955

World War II December 1941–December 1946

 Other All other periods

Period-of-service definitions are modified occasionally to reflect changes in laws, regulations, and program needs of the 

survey sponsors.

In data tabulated by the Bureau, veterans who served during 

one of the selected wartime periods and during another period 

are classified into the wartime period. For instance, a veteran 

who served on active duty from 1968 through 1988 would be 

considered a Vietnam-era veteran. However, in the microdata, 

both periods of service would be identified (Vietnam era and 

other periods of service).5

A veteran who served in more than one wartime period is 

classified into the most recent one. For example, a veteran who 

served on active duty from 2000 through 2005 would be considered a Gulf War-era II veteran, and in the microdata both 

periods of service would be identified (Gulf War era I and Gulf 

War era II).

APPENDIX: Technical information about CPS data on veterans
Monthly Labor Review • July 2010 9

Tabulated annual average and monthly data

Since April 2008, the Bureau has published annual average labor force statistics on veterans and nonveterans in a news release 

entitled “Employment Situation of Veterans.”6 Previously, these 

annual averages appeared only in unpublished tables available 

to the public upon request. Monthly data by veteran status were 

added to the “Employment Situation,” the monthly BLS news 

release about employment and unemployment, on February 5, 

2010.7

Limitations of the CPS data

The sample size of the CPS limits the precision of detailed data 

pertaining to relatively small groups. For instance, during any 

month in 2009, approximately 11,000 veterans were members 

of a household participating in the CPS. Of those 11,000, about 

700 had served during Gulf War era II. Further dividing the 

data by sex and age results in weighted estimates that are based 

on very few interviews. As a result, the standard errors for some 

weighted estimates are large.

Weighting procedures for data on veterans 

The publication entitled Design and Methodology: Current Population Survey, also known as Technical Paper 66, describes weighting procedures for calculating various kinds of data on veterans.8

Frequency of the CPS veterans supplement

Periodically, a set of questions about a particular subject—

also known as a CPS supplement—is added to the end of the 

basic CPS interview. The CPS first added a supplement about 

veterans, including questions asking them about whether 

they had a service-connected disability, in April 1985. This 

supplement has continued to be part of the CPS during one 

month every other year from 1985 through 2009. Beginning 

in 2009, the supplement will be conducted annually. In 2010, 

the supplement will be asked in July. Beginning in August 

2011, the supplemental questions will be asked in August of 

each year.

“Employment Situation of Veterans” 

The results of the CPS veterans supplement are published in the 

news release “Employment Situation of Veterans,” usually in 

March or April in the year following the survey. A small change 

to this practice occurred on April 10, 2008, when the Bureau 

published supplement data collected in August 2007 along with 

2007 annual average data from the CPS. This was the first news 

release to include annual average data by veteran status. The 

next year, on March 20, 2009, the Bureau published only 2008 

annual average data by veteran status, because supplemental 

questions about veterans were not asked in 2008; at that point, 

the supplement was biennial. On March 12, 2010, the Bureau 

published August 2009 supplemental data and 2009 annual 

averages. In early 2011, BLS will release July 2010 supplement 

data and 2010 annual averages. Beginning in August 2011, the 

supplemental questions will be asked in August of each year 

and the supplement data will be published the year after their 

collection, along with annual average data.

Notes to the appendix

1 See Labor Force and Employment in 1959, Special Labor Force 

Report No. 4 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1960), p. A-11.

2 See Elizabeth Waldman, Employment and Earnings (Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, May 1971), pp. 5–10.

3 See Maria L. Roca, “Women veterans total 1 million in the first 

half of 1986,” Monthly Labor Review, December 1986, pp. 30–31, on 

the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1986/12/rpt1full.pdf (visited 

July 20, 2010).

4 See “Employment Situation of Veterans: 2005” (Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, May 26, 2006), on the Internet at www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/vet_05262006.pdf (visited July 20, 2010).

5 For CPS microdata and documentation, see “Current Population 

Survey (CPS): A joint effort between the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

and the Census Bureau,” on the Internet at www.census.gov/cps (visited July 20, 2010).

6 These news releases are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/

schedule/archives/all_nr.htm#VET (visited July 20, 2010).

7 See “The Employment Situation—June 2010,” table A–5, on the 

Internet at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf (visited July 

20, 2010). Call the Bureau of Labor Statistics at (202) 691–6378, or 

send an e-mail to cpsinfo@bls.gov, for quarterly data about veterans 

and nonveterans.

8 See chapter 10, page 14; the document can be found on the Internet 

at www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/tp-66.pdf (visited July 20, 2010).