Veterans' Employment and Training Service VETS

Federal help placing veterans in jobs began with a veterans' placement service attached to the public employment system in the 1930s and expanded after World War II. Congress created the post of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training in 1981, and the Veterans' Employment and Training Service operates under that official. It works alongside the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VETS funds state employment specialists in American Job Centers who give veterans priority service and work with employers to hire them. It runs employment workshops in the Transition Assistance Program for service members leaving the military, and it awards the HIRE Vets Medallion to employers that recruit and retain veterans. It also investigates complaints under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, which requires employers to rehire National Guard members and reservists returning from duty and bars discrimination based on military service.

Veteran unemployment has generally run below the overall rate in recent years, though younger veterans, those with disabilities, and military spouses face higher barriers. Debates focus on whether transition training starts early enough and whether military skills translate into civilian credentials, and the 2026 budget request proposed shifting veterans' hiring protections for federal contractors to VETS from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.