Paul Stewart would not have gone to Iraq if he had not needed the work. But the economy left him little choice.
The Air National Guard sergeant closed his Newton scuba diving shop when the economy crashed in 2008, and after finding nothing but $15-an-hour security guard jobs, he went back on active duty, patrolling a base in 130-degree heat in Baghdad.
He returned in March, but his luck has been no better. “What’s available right now are just low-paying, no-benefit jobs,’’ he said.
Stewart, a 41-year-old Northeastern University graduate, is among the tens of thousands of veterans returning to a difficult job market, one that is only expected to get tougher following the pullout of US troops from Iraq this year and from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. In Massachusetts alone, the number of veterans seeking help in finding civilian jobs is expected to increase by as much as 75 percent by the middle of next year, according to state career services officials.
Nationally, the jobless rate for all post-9/11 veterans has risen nearly 2 percentage points, to 12.1 percent, over the past year, even as overall unemployment has declined to 9 percent. The unemployment rate for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan is even higher - 14.3 percent.
Men and women returning from military service face distinct challenges in finding work.
A third suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or traumatic brain injuries, which can make employers wary of hiring them, according to veteran services organizations.
Some employers are reluctant to hire members of the Reserves or National Guard because they can’t afford to lose a worker for six months or more if they are called up for active duty.
And in sectors that traditionally attract veterans, such as law enforcement, job opportunities have dwindled because of budget cuts. The Massachusetts State Police Academy has just started its first class in five years.
Jonathan Howe has struggled not only to find work but to adjust to living with his parents in Wareham and supporting his wife and 3-year-old daughter after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his nearly five years in the Army, he survived mortar attacks and patrolled garbage dumps that people called home. He was trained to look for dead animals rigged with explosives on the side of the road.
These experiences have stayed with Howe, 37, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is something he feels he has to disclose to employers, but he is worried his condition might make companies leery about hiring him.