Veteran Jobless Rate Hits New Low Even as Economy Faces Major Turmoil

In an economy that is becoming less stable, the March jobs report showed a surprising bright spot: the unemployment rate for heroes of the 9/11 attacks dropped from 4.3% to just 3.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That's a significant change, even though Wall Street crashed and the government was preparing for big budget cuts.

Overall, the U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs, which was much higher than expected and shows how strong the job market is still. In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said that the study showed that his economic plan is working. "Great work, the numbers are better than I thought." It does work already. Stay strong. "We can't lose!"

However, the jobs data was gathered before Trump's big news about tariffs this week, which slowed the market and made people worry about a recession. After Trump called today "Liberation Day" and started taxes that may be higher than the notorious Smoot-Hawley rates from the 1930s, the Dow dropped more than 1,600 points.

The economy's news got worse when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the tariffs could raise unemployment and prices. J.P. Morgan also raised its prediction for a U.S. recession this year to 60%.

Even with all the chaos, soldiers made considerable progress. The unemployment rate for all veterans fell from 4.1% to 3.8%, and the BLS said that the health care, social support, and transportation sectors saw the most job growth. But the unemployment rate for female soldiers rose alarmingly, from 2.4% a year ago to 5.4% now.

Jon Retzer of the Disabled American Veterans said that the jump shows that racism against women is still going on. He called for more help for women leaving the service and said, "We are concerned to see this trend."

Federal layoffs are also coming, especially at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which wants to cut 80,000 jobs but has only done 2,400 so far. The controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is pushing for layoffs, which worries people who support workers.

Robert Frick, an economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said, "Obviously the future looks grim for government employees." He said that veteran unemployment could rise sharply as budget cuts get worse. Will Attig of the Union Veterans Council also said, "We're just on the edge of this."

The drop in the unemployment rate among veterans is a rare sign of hope right now, but many in the veterans' community are worried that the trend may soon change.

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