Monthly Veterans Report

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases a detailed report on the Employment Situation of Veterans each March. The estimates for the veterans' annual average unemployment in this report are more accurate than other estimates, and are likely the best data available for users to reference in public presentations, grant applications, etc. The BLS reports monthly the employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service and sex, not seasonally adjusted. These estimates are from a small sample and highly volatile from one month to the next.

Employment and unemployment statistics by Veteran status for the state of Illinois are only available annually. These annual averages are produced by the BLS for a special request from the Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS) in the Department of Labor. These figures are used by VETS in their State allocations under the Jobs for Veterans Act. The BLS cautions that these data come from a small sample and are subject to a large sampling error.

The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Chairman's Staff produces annual unemployment rates for Post-9/11 and Total Veterans' by state. The JEC notes that margins of error may be large due to small sampling size.