Job Prospects Looking Up For Illinois Military Veterans
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (CBS) -- Job prospects are beginning to look more promising for the state's military veterans.
As WBBM Newsradio's Catherine Catalane reports, for returning veterans in Illinois, the unemployment rate is better than other parts of the country. It stands at 8.1 percent, while unemployment statewide stands at 8.1 percent, reports Jim Anderson of WJBC-AM, Bloomington.
Nationally, post-9/11 veterans who serve in Afghanistan in Iraq face an unemployment rate of 12.1 percent.
Jay Rowell, director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, tells WJBC the reason things are faring better here is that the agency works on ways to convert military skills into civilian jobs.
Also, Rowell tells WJBC, the staff at the department understands what it is like to try to find work after military service. Sixty percent are veterans themselves.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Catherine Catalane reports
