The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wants veterans to know about their benefits, from job and education opportunities to home loans and programs for those who are disabled, a VA official said yesterday. Veterans caught in todays high rate of unemployment likely can find a job in one of the more than 200 high demand careers that have been identified by the Department of Labor, said Curtis Coy, VAs deputy under secretary for economic opportunity. Those occupations are listed on the VAs website. The U.S. Department of Labors most recent figures from last year show 900,000 veterans out of work, averaging 7.7 percent of Americans, and 12.1 percent for veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The high demand jobs list is not a narrow one; in fact, it is a very broad list, Coy said, adding that the 2011 legislation, VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 was enacted for veterans looking for meaningful employment in high-demand jobs. Overall, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act would lower the rate of unemployment among the nations veterans, and combine two Congressional provisions from the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act and the Hiring Heroes Act, VA officials said. The act also would provide veterans tax credits in an all inclusive jobs package to fight the veteran unemployment rate. The act has more than 20 provisions, including tax credits for businesses that hire veterans, Coy said.
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