Unemployment for the post-9/11 generation of veterans approached a historic low in May, hitting 5.4 percent, government data show.
The U.S., meanwhile, tacked on 280,000 jobs in May, with an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, changed little from April’s 5.4 percent mark, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The lowest unemployment rate recorded for post-9/11 vets was 5.3 percent in May 2014, just a hair below the May 2015 rate released Friday. This is also just the fourth time that unemployment for the latest generation of veterans has fallen below 6 percent since the government began tracking figures in fall 2008.
Statisticians advise against putting much faith in any one month’s jobs report, particularly when it comes to reports focused just on post-9/11 vets. The sample sizes for these are very small, making them prone to dramatic fluctuation.
The 1.5-point drop from April’s rate of 6.9 percent is just such a fluctuation. Accordingly, it may be a little too soon to draw the conclusion that vet unemployment truly is in 5 percent territory.
But taking into account the last half year of jobs reports, the employment situation for post-9/11 veterans looks better than at any point in the history of the metric. Six of the past seven unemployment rates have been below 7 percent. Prior to this streak, only five monthly unemployment reports dipped below 7 percent unemployment — ever.
For veterans of all generations, unemployment stood at 5 percent in May, up slightly from April’s 4.7 percent mark.
