Long Beach Veterans Group Cheers Obama Plan To Spur Hiring
LONG BEACH (CBS) — A Southland war veterans group on Friday gave high praise to the Obama administration for its plan to put more American servicemen and women back to work.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the plan to offer $120 million to businesses that hire veterans could lead to easier transitions for our war heroes into the private sector.
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Greg McCormack, site director for the nonprofit U.S. Veterans Initiative Long Beach, calls the move a major step forward — that is, if the focus of the programs are geared towards increased outreach to business owners on behalf of vets looking for work.
"If employers can realize when they hire a veteran they get dependability, that 'learn-ability,'" said McCormack. "They have had to learn new tasks over their time in the military, new skills, and they're ready to go, they are motivated to work."
Tax credits for hiring vets may also help, but Mc Cormack emphasized that the process of getting those credits can't be bogged down in too much paperwork or small business — which are the vast majority of employers — won't utilize the program.
The jobless rate for military veterans has seen a sharp increase since 2010 and has jumped nearly 2 percent to 13.3 percent in June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
