IES Blog

Military cuts leave many unprepared for traditional job market

Posted on October 18th, 2011 Read time: 1 minutes

According to recent data from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, job cuts were 126 percent higher in September than August. Furthermore, they were 212 percent higher compared to figures from September of last year.

In total, employers reduced payrolls by 115,730 workers last month – the worst drop in more than two years. Most of the decrease can be attributed to the United States Army, which dropped 50,000 troops as part of its five-year reduction plan.

Overall, the government-employed sector has cut 54,182 workers since January 1. The financial sector is right behind, with 54,013 layoffs. More than 30,000 of those occurred in September after Bank of America began its multi-year workforce reduction plan.

Challenger fears that many of the recently unemployed military personnel will have trouble adapting to the real world.

"As officers, soldiers and even civilian personnel get displaced from the military, they face special challenges when making the transition to the traditional job market," Challenger wrote.

ABC News reports that because of the struggling economy, many older Americans are being forced to swallow their pride and apply for temporary work or seasonal positions that were typically reserved for younger people.  

Related Articles