America's veterans are experiencing an 18-year low in its unemployment rates, and the numbers are continuing to go down, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said Thursday.
"It is 3.2 percent for men who are veterans and now 2.3 percent for women, so it is really the best unemployment news for America warriors in 40 or 50 years," Wilkie told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
The credit is due to employers recognizing veterans bring discipline and a sense of service to the workplace that is not found in many places, said Wilkie.
"They come with a set of skills that are absolutely vital in this 20th century economy," said Wilkie, adding that he also gives credit to President Donald Trump.
"(He is) the first president really since the end of World War II who made the condition in the care of veterans and the promotion of veterans the centerpiece of his campaign," said Wilkie.
"He has carried that forward and empowered the Department of Veterans Affairs to undergo the greatest transformative period in our history."
The president's executive order also has put in place a transition plan that gives veterans, as they come out of active service, with access to VA programs, the secretary said.
There are still challenges being faced when it comes to suicide prevention among veterans, and Wilkie said there is an issue with getting them in for treatment through the VA.
"Every day, 20 veterans take their own lives, he said. "Fourteen of those veterans are outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs" and not involved in the system.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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