Between 2006 and 2010, an estimated 6.6 percent of the Veteran
population was unemployed. However, the unemployment rate
varied greatly by region and county. On average, counties in
the South and the West had the highest rates (6.7 percent).
The average for nonmetro counties (6.7 percent) was higher than the
average for metro counties (6.4 percent). Overall, nonmetro
counties in the South had the highest average Veteran unemployment
rate (7.0 percent). The Veteran unemployment rate was also
high in historically manufacturing dependent counties in the
Midwest. These geographic patterns are similar to those for
unemployment among the civilian adult population as a whole.
This map is from the Atlas of Rural and
Small-Town America on the ERS website. Today, ERS is co-hosting
Veterans, Reservists, and Military Families (VRMF) Data and
Research Workshop.