Jeremy Tolleson traded one conflict for another when he retired from the U.S. Army and started working for the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.
It wasn’t the same as being deployed in a peacekeeping mission during the Bosnian War, but the aftershocks from the 2008 financial crisis left local workers in crisis. Tolleson’s task: help turn the waiting rooms brimming with out-of-work veterans clutching resumes into the tech-savvy, skilled workforce employers demanded.
“It was kind of an all-hands-on-deck feeling,” Tolleson said.
Gradually, the crisis abated and by 2019, those same waiting room crowds had thinned as veteran unemployment rates – nationally and in Rhode Island – reached their lowest levels since the Great Recession.
Then COVID-19 hit, sending millions of workers packing, including military veterans. Tolleson, promoted from case manager to DLT’s veteran program manager, feared another catastrophe was around the corner.
The last two years haven’t been easy, but the decadelong veteran unemployment crisis that followed the 2008 recession doesn’t appear to be repeating itself. The national unemployment rate for veterans peaked at 12.1% in April 2020. As of March, the most recent data available, that rate had dropped to 2.4% – which was back at pre-pandemic levels and below the unemployment rate among nonveteran workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Even Chris Dalton, who retired from a 32-year career in uniform at the height of the pandemic, didn’t see a break in employment. The former Marine lieutenant colonel started his civilian job in market research for Citizens Bank the same month that he went on terminal leave from the service.
The rapid decline in veteran unemployment was partly thanks to the ongoing worker shortage, which has helped. Also crucial is that local companies are targeting veterans to fill their open positions.
Military service gives an “essence of professionalism” that employers in nearly every industry want in their workers, says Gary Convertino, director of workforce development for the Rhode Island Society of Human Resources Management.
Regardless of branch or position, making it through the grueling, two-month boot camp that all entry-level military members endure equips them with the skills that make for good workers, according to Tolleson.
“Most people wouldn’t be able to tolerate a week of what we go through,” he said. “You’re really kind of broken down to that base level, and the trust and duty and commitment born out of that is not typically found in the same levels in civilians.”
Tri-Mack Plastics Manufacturing Corp. isn’t looking to break its workers’ spirits. But the Bristol aerospace parts manufacturer does want workers who will show up and work hard – two characteristics that are sometimes proving hard to come by in the post-pandemic era, according to Martha Morrisette, Tri-Mack’s sales coordinator.
Morrisette, who has worked in human resources and recruiting for companies in many industries, says the “ghosting” phenomenon of workers walking off the job or not showing up at all has intensified in recent months. And after seeing success with past veteran hires, Tri-Mack is honing in on the ex-military population for hard-to-fill second-shift jobs.
“We want people with CNC [computer numerical control] experience, but we’re realizing we may not be able to find those folks,” she said. “If we can get people who can work independently but also support our mission and our training, that’s the next best thing. We really think veterans are a good population for us.”
While Tolleson feels optimistic since seeing fewer veterans coming to the DLT for help, he’s still wary that numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Measurements of the veteran population, especially in Rhode Island, can be unreliable because of the small sample size, according to Donna Murray, assistant director for DLT’s Labor Market Information Division.
Lower unemployment rates could also be a reflection of veterans dropping out of the labor force, retiring early or perhaps simply growing frustrated by their inability to find the career they want, rather than finding jobs, Tolleson says.
The mental health toll the pandemic took on veterans is not to be discounted, either. Tolleson suspects the isolation and a sense of lack of purpose that accompanied the pandemic were felt more acutely by veterans, who thrive in structure and teamwork. Returning to work might be too overwhelming.
Tolleson could relate. He didn’t lose his job, but the mounting piles of unemployment claims in the early months of the pandemic and six-day workweeks spent sifting through emails rather than meeting with veterans face to face weighed heavily on his social and emotional state.
What kept him going through those stressful months was the sense of purpose he feels in his job, a kind of satisfaction he hopes to help other former military members find in their own careers.
“We have really shifted our focus from not just getting a veteran hired to any job but to a higher-skilled, meaningful job,” he said.
Dalton said DLT’s advice, including personality and career aptitude tests and suggestions for certifications for different careers, were crucial to helping him find a job suited to his skills and work style.
“It really helped me define what I like to do and where I might like to do it,” he said.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
