2001 Employment Situation of Veterans — 2002-06-28

Male veterans of the Vietnam era who served in Southeast Asia had an unemployment rate of 3.0 percent in August 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Their jobless rate was similar to the rate for veterans of that era who served outside the Vietnam war theater and for nonveterans of a similar age. The Vietnam era is defined as the period from February 1961 to May 1975. Of the 8.0 million male veterans of the Vietnam era in August 2001, half actually served in Southeast Asia. About 11 percent of Vietnam-era veterans had a service-connected disability. The survey of veterans was conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau as a special supplement to the August 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS). It was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service.