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.