Veteran Hires by Federal Government at 20-Year High

Preliminary data show that hiring of veterans by the federal government was at a 20-year high during fiscal year 2011.

Military veterans comprised more than a quarter (28.5 percent) of the federal government's new hires this year. This represents an increase of almost 3 percentage points over fiscal year 2010 and about 4.5 percentage points over fiscal year 2009.

John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, released the 2011 numbers following a meeting of the President's Council on Veterans Employment, an Obama administration initiative to which Berry attributes the boosts in veteran hiring.

"I'm proud of the Council's success in keeping these highly trained and experienced individuals working for our nation, particularly the over one million who served in Iraq," Berry said.

The council also approved a new program designed to encourage the hiring of formerly homeless veterans, which is set to begin in 2010. For more information, see the press release.

Share This

Email