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A closer look at veterans in the labor force
Emily Rolen | November 2017
On Veterans Day, we honor the men and women who have served our country. And our nation has quite a few
veterans to thank: about 21 million! Nearly 4 million of those veterans have served since September 2001.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Career Outlook
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Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) show that veterans ages 18 and over who previously served on
active duty made up 8.5 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population in 2016. Two out of 5 veterans served
during the World War II (December 1941 to December 1946), Korean War (July 1950 to January 1955), and
Vietnam-era (August 1964 to April 1975) conflicts; about 1 in 6 served during the Gulf War-era I period (August
1990 to August 2001); nearly 1 in 5 served during the Gulf War-era II period (September 2001 to present); and 1 in
4 served during other service periods (all other time periods). (See table 1.)
CPS data provide details about veterans’ demographics, educational attainment, and employment status.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Career Outlook
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U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Career Outlook
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Demographics
Combined, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans make up the largest and oldest of the veteran
groups, according to 2016 CPS data. The group is also the least diverse in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.
Nearly 9 out of 10 veterans who served during these wars are White. The World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-
era group also has the smallest proportion of women veterans for any service period: 3.6 percent.
However, the veteran population is becoming more diverse in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity. For starters,
women’s share of the veteran population has grown. As chart 1 shows, nearly 18 percent of veterans who have
served since September 2001 are women.
Also, the Gulf War-era I and Gulf War-era II veteran populations are more racially and ethnically diverse than the
combined World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-er