News From the Cause
Mercy College event seeks ways to help returning veterans find jobs(LoHUD.com)
February 23, 2011
After serving four years in the U.S. Navy, Ricardo Martinez was hoping he would have a "competitive edge."
But the 27-year-old Yonkers resident is growing frustrated that his military service, a nearly completed college degree, three internship s and fluency in five languages hasn't translated into any job offers.
"It's frustrating that you're doing everything exactly to the T," Martinez said of getting a job in law enforcement. "You keep hearing they're hiring veterans, but you're just not seeing it."
His angst isn't uncommon.
In addition to facing the traditional post-combat stress and other challenges, veterans are having a much harder time getting jobs in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Nearly 22 percent of New Yorkers ages 18 to 29 who served — including about 300 from Westchester and Rockland counties who recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan — are out of work, according to the state Labor Department's figures.
That's more than double the national unemployment rate.
Easing the transition and finding veterans jobs was part of a roundtable discussion Tuesday at Mercy College that included federal, state and local leaders, education, advocacy and business groups as well as veterans. Click here to view full article
