Tax incentives for vet job growth
Steve Chiotakis: On this Veterans Day, there are nearly a million unemployed vets across the country.
The U.S. House next week is expected to take up a bill that would offer incentives to employers
to hire out-of-work vets — something President Obama championed earlier this week, and similar to a measure that passed the Senate yesterday.
Marketplace’s Jennifer Collins reports.
Jennifer Collins: The tax credits for employers are generous: More than $5,000 for businesses that hire veterans and over $9,000 to employ disabled vets.
Larry Harris: It’s about time.
Larry Harris is with USC’s Marshall School of Business.
Harris: It certainly will encourage an employer to look to a veteran before they look to somebody else.
Lisa Martini is a spokeswoman for the company that owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo and National. The company already employs thousands of vets — about 10 percent of its workforce. Martini says this bill will help expand that.
Lisa Martini: For us it means we can continue our recruiting efforts and our hiring efforts.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, about a million service members are expected to return to civilian life in the next five years. Jim Holbrook is with the University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans’ Studies.
Jim Holbrook: So there will be many fewer jobs available in the military and a lot more people who were in the military who will be looking for employment.
The bill would also provide training and job counseling for veterans.
I’m Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
