Unemployment in Jacksonville, Especially Among Veterans

 

There are very few places in America that have not been touched by the recession, and north Florida is not among them. Jacksonville’s unemployment rate is still pretty high at 10.4 percent at last count. This rate is even higher among  veterans, a segment of the population that has been hit harder than most by the economy. Among the problems that veterans face is the adjustment to civilian life after years, sometimes decades, of military service. This has not always the easiest thing to do, not even in times when the economy has been better. 

 

It was the high rate of unemployment among veterans that spurred Recruitmilitary to sponsor their job fair at Everbank Field last Thursday. Male veterans have to deal with 9.8 percent unemployment rate. The rate of unemployment among female veterans is even higher at 16.8 percent. The job fair was put on in conjunction with the US Chamber of Commerce. Recruitmilitary is an organization owned by military veterans that was started with the intent of helping men and women coming out of the armed forces to find jobs and to transition smoothly to civilian life. They serve veterans of all ranks and from all branches of the service. 

 

Of course, the problems faced with unemployment are not limited to the military, nor to the Jacksonville area. Poverty rates across Florida have been skyrocketing, including among working people, some of them well educated professionals. People who have always been self-sufficient are not having to ask for help, going to food banks and using food stamps.