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Veteran Employment
Employment is important to well-being and adjustment from military to civilian life. According to the Life After Service Studies, Canadian Veterans (released from 1998-2012) who were not working were more likely to report difficulty adjusting to civilian life. Overall, the employment story is quite positive for Canadian Veterans, with the majority working in jobs they are satisfied with. However, a third of those who are working are dealing with long-term health conditions.
- Most Veterans work after release
The majority of Veterans work after release: 72% of Regular Force; 84% of Reserve Class A/B; and 80% of Reserve Class C. At 7%, the unemployment rate is on par with that of the Canadian public. - Experiencing activity limitations at work
Working Veterans are much more likely than working Canadians to report long-term physical or mental health conditions or a health-related activity limitation at work (35% vs 13%). - Career-ready and satisfied
Almost half of the Veterans surveyed (46%) feel their military skills transferred to their civilian job and a strong majority (75%)are satisfied with their civilian careers. - Almost 1/4 aren't in the labour force
Regular Force Veterans are “not in the labour force” at a higher rate than the general Canadian population (23% vs 18%). This means they are not looking for work as opposed to the “unemployed” group who are actively looking for work.
| Employed | Not in the Labour Force | Unable to Work | Unemployed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71.9% | 19.3% | 5.3% | 3.5% |
Info Brief References (Veteran Employment):
Thompson JM, Van Til L, Poirier A, Sweet J, McKinnon K, Sudom K, Dursun S, Pedlar D. Health and Well-Being of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans: Findings from the 2013 Life After Service Sur-vey. Charlottetown PE: Research Directorate, Veterans Affairs Canada.03 July 2014.
MacLean MB, Keough J, Poirier A, McKinnon K and Sweet J. Labour-Market Outcomes of Veter-ans, Research Directorate, Veterans Affairs Canada, Charlottetown. 15 February 2016.
Keough J, MacLean MB, Van Til L, Poirier A and McKinnon K (2015). Life After Service Studies (LASS) Secondary Analysis. Regular Force Veterans Not in the Labour Force. December, 2015.
For full reports, contact: VAC.research-recherche.ACC@vac-acc.gc.ca