The economic downturn has had far-reaching effects, touching nearly every industry and demographic across the country and hampering countless individuals chances of being hired as a permanent or contract worker.
However, the Obama administration recently announced plans to aid one important and disproportionately affected share of the population – rural U.S. veterans, who, the White House notes, make up 44 percent of those serving.
While the President's Veterans Employment Initiative has hired more than 100,000 service members since its inception a year and a half ago, President Barack Obama launched a new program on August 5 that aims to provide veterans with the skills they need to appeal to any company's human resources administration.
"The proposal includes the Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which would provide strong incentives for firms to hire unemployed veterans, and the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit, which would increase incentives to hire unemployed veterans with service connected disabilities," a White House statement explains.
Additionally, the president has challenged companies to hire over 100,000 veterans by the end of 2013.
According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, the unemployment rate for veterans who have served any time since September 2001 was 11.5 percent.