Veteran Unemployment Rate: UK vs US Statistics (2026 Update)

The US veteran unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2025, below the 4.2% rate for non-veterans, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The UK publishes no equivalent monthly rate. Its main measure tracks service leavers six months after they leave: of those who left in 2024/25 and used the Career Transition Partnership, 86% were employed, 7% were unemployed and 8% were economically inactive. Both sets of numbers are useful, but they count different people over different periods. This guide sets them side by side and explains what each one can and cannot tell you.

UK and US veteran unemployment at a glance

The US numbers: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The BLS asks about veteran status in the Current Population Survey, the same household survey that produces the national unemployment rate. Its Employment Situation of Veterans release, published on 28 April 2026, covers 2025. The headline rate for all veterans rose from 3.0% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025. There were 17.3 million veterans in 2025, about 7% of the civilian population aged 18 and over, including 5.6 million Gulf War-era II veterans.

Two caveats apply. First, the October 2025 survey was not collected during the federal government shutdown, so the 2025 figures are 11-month averages and the BLS warns they are not strictly comparable with other years. Second, the disability figures come from a supplement run in August 2025. That supplement found 5.8 million veterans, 34% of the total, had a service-connected disability, and 38.7% of those in work were employed in federal, state or local government.

The latest monthly figure

The BLS also publishes a monthly rate in Table A-5 of the Employment Situation report. These figures are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years. In September 2026 the veteran unemployment rate was 3.5%, up from 2.6% in September 2025. For Gulf War-era II veterans it was 4.1%, up from 2.4%. The non-veteran rate was 3.9%, down from 4.2%. Recent veterans saw the sharpest rise over the year.

The UK numbers: Career Transition Partnership outcomes

The Ministry of Defence's Career Transition Partnership statistics for 2024/25, published on 12 February 2026, follow up service leavers six months after they leave. In 2024/25, 14,588 regular and Gurkha personnel left the armed forces. Of these, 10,208 (70%) used a billable CTP service and 8,130 reported an outcome. The bulletin weights the results to correct for people who did not respond.

The trend has turned. The 2024/25 bulletin reports that the employment rate fell from 88% in 2023/24 to 86%, a statistically significant drop, while unemployment rose from 5% to 7%. Unemployment had been as low as 3% for 2021/22 leavers. Economic inactivity stayed at 8%.

Against the wider population, service leavers did well on employment. The UK employment rate over the same period was 75%, or 77% once adjusted for the fact that 91% of leavers are men. The bulletin found no statistical evidence that leavers' unemployment rate differed from the UK rate of 4%. It also warns that the comparison is imperfect: leavers are measured at six months, while the national figure includes people who have been looking for work for much longer. For context, the latest ONS labour market bulletin, published on 15 September 2026, put UK unemployment at 4.9% for May to July 2026.

The long-term UK picture: Census 2021

The broadest UK measure comes from the ONS analysis of Census 2021, published on 7 June 2024 and covering England and Wales. Because most veterans are older, 57.6% were economically inactive, mainly through retirement. After adjusting non-veterans to the same age, sex and regional profile, the picture was close to parity: 1.6% of veterans were unemployed, against 1.7% of comparable non-veterans. Economically active veterans were more likely to be employees (79.2% against 72.8%) and less likely to be self-employed (17.0% against 23.0%).

Who is most at risk of unemployment

• Recent leavers. In both countries the newest cohort moved the wrong way in the latest data: UK leavers' unemployment rose to 7%, and US Gulf War-era II unemployment reached 4.1% in September 2026.
• Women. Female US veterans had a 4.6% rate in 2025, against 3.3% for men. Female UK leavers had the same unemployment rate as men but more than twice the inactivity rate (15% against 7%).
• Ethnic minority and non-UK leavers. UK ethnic minority leavers had 15% unemployment and non-UK ethnic minority leavers 23%, compared with 6% for white leavers.

Where to get employment help

In the UK, the Career Transition Partnership supports leavers from up to two years before discharge, and early service leavers for up to two years after it, as set out in the gov.uk guidance on employment support. The Forces Employment Charity helps service leavers, veterans, reservists and families regardless of rank, length of service or reason for leaving. In the US, the Department of Labor's Transition Assistance Program (TAP) runs employment workshops and one-to-one help through its Employment Navigator and Partnership Program.

For a fuller breakdown of each country's resettlement system, read our comparison of UK and US transition support. To understand how official agencies build these figures and forecasts, see reading the agencies.