Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on unemployment among veterans

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on today's release of 2011 unemployment data on veterans by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"This annual report underscores the importance and the urgency of President Obama's initiatives to increase employment among veterans.

"President Obama has put into place critical programs that will help our veterans. They include the Vow to Hire Heroes Act, which provides unemployed veterans with additional GI Bill benefits to qualify for jobs in high-demand sectors; the Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which provides incentives to businesses to hire unemployed veterans; and the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit, to encourage the hiring of veterans with service-connected disabilities.

"At the Labor Department, we have introduced the Veterans Gold Card to provide veterans with enhanced, priority services at 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the country; My Next Move for Veterans, so that veterans may go online and match their military occupations with civilian jobs; and the Veterans Job Bank Resource Directory, which allows veterans to search more than 500,000 job postings by companies.

"Our veterans have made sacrifices on behalf of the nation, and I ask all employers to renew their commitment to veterans, because the best way to honor our veterans is to employ them. No veteran should have to fight for a job at home after fighting to protect our nation."