OPINION:
President Trump recently signed an executive order enhancing opportunities for military spouses seeking employment within the federal government, a major landmark for military spouse employment.
The order not only creates greater career opportunities for military spouses, it requires federal agencies to increase accountability of their efforts to recruit and hire military spouses.
Why does this matter?
There are nearly 700,000 military spouses around the world, and 92 percent of them are women. Like most American families, military families want and need two incomes to make ends meet and ensure financial security. Many spouses also want the validation and gratification associated with a job or career.
Yet careers are elusive for many military spouses. Frequent moves, remote duty locations and deployment cycles create a never-ending roller coaster of twists and turns and ups and downs.
In fact, while most Americans have seen a significant improvement in their employment prospects in recent years, military spouses continue to face an unemployment rate of 16 percent — four times the national average.
In addition to staggering unemployment rates, underemployment is a major issue. Despite education or experience, various organizations have published studies indicating that somewhere between 55 percent and 70 percent of spouses have either more work experience or formal education than is required for their current position.
These employment challenges create unnecessary financial and emotional stress for military families. Our 2017 survey, Military Spouses in the Workplace, uncovered that finding work was one of the top three stressors for a military family.
The lack of career opportunities for spouses plays a significant role in military retention. More than 40 percent of military spouses stated that their lack of career opportunities factored into the family’s choice to stay in or leave the service.
Mr. Trump’s executive order is a critical step forward. The order, first and foremost, creates new pathways to much-needed career and job opportunities with federal agencies on and near military installations. The order also requires federal agencies to take notice and conduct better outreach to the military spouse community.
Finally, it provides a path toward better reporting, greater accountability and much-needed education among federal agencies regarding use of the existing military spouse hiring authority.
Within 180 days of the order’s date, the Office of Personnel Management will be required to educate agencies concerning military spouse hiring authority. In addition, beginning in 2019, an annual report will be generated regarding the implementation of the enhanced order. These reporting mechanisms are fundamental to painting a clearer picture, not only for our federal partners, but for the general public.
Now it’s the private sector’s turn.
Over the years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative has worked with a wide array of private-sector partners to create meaningful employment opportunities for veterans and military spouses. Our collective efforts helped to reduce veteran unemployment from 12.1 percent in 2011 to less than 4 percent in 2018.
These same efforts must be leveraged to overcome military spouse unemployment and the many challenges associated with advancing a career while being married to a service member.
Change often starts with acknowledging that a problem exists. The federal government has stepped up to acknowledge that military spouse employment issues have a legitimate impact on our national security.
And now, we look to the private sector to make military spouse employment a top priority by creating 21st century career opportunities for military families. We look forward to continuing our efforts to empower military spouses and connect them with companies committed to creating one of the greatest, most talented work forces in the country.
• Eric Eversole, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is president of Hiring Our Heroes.
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