White House Exceeds Private Sector Hiring Goal for Veterans

First Lady Michelle Obama announced at a Naval base today that 2,000 businesses around the country have hired or trained more than 125,000 military veterans and spouses in the past year, exceeding a White House goal of 100,000 by the end of next year.

This effort, called Joining Forces, led by the First Lady and Mrs. Biden, along with recent legislation, has achieve a 20 percent decrease in veteran unemployment compared to this time last year.

Leaders of businesses who have been doing the hiring were on hand at Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida.

Veteran Paul Andrews, who was trained as a sonar technician on Subamrines in the Navy, introduced the First Lady. These days Andrews is applying the skills he learned in the Navy at a private sector a job with a company called Sonardyne after interviewing at a Joining Forces International hiring event in Mayport earlier this year.

Seizing on momentum to date, the First Lady also announced that these same companies have committed to hire 250,000 veterans and military spouses in the coming years, including a commitment by the Military Spouse Employment Partnership to employ 50,000 military spouses in the coming years.

(READ more in an AP story in the Atlanta J-C)

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