Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/gazette-opinion-more-work-to-do-on-getting-jobs-for/article_48e4eac2-4616-57e2-a9bf-2d186a04e5cd.html#ixzz1drjT0c4v
Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill that, among other things, will expand incentives for hiring U.S. veterans.
All three members of Montana’s congressional delegation expressed support for the bill. Sen. Jon Tester sponsored the amendment to HR674 that added veteran hiring incentives to a bill repealing a law that would have required withholding 3 percent of large federal contracts until the contractor had paid its taxes.
Tester and Sen. Max Baucus had previously proposed incentives for hiring veterans. In October, U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg supported a House bill that would increase veteran hiring incentives.
If the amended HR674 passes the House, it would become the first piece of President Obama’s jobs plan to be enacted. However, government policymakers are limited in what they can do to spur hiring. Most of the hiring will be done by private employers.
Getting information to these employers is crucial, said Dan Bernhardt, who manages the veterans employment program for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
Existing law already offers some employer incentives, Bernhardt noted. For example:
A work opportunity tax credit of $2,400 for hiring a veteran.
A credit of $4,800 for hiring a veteran with a service connected disability.
A program that will pay 50 percent of the salary for up to six months for veterans in VA vocational rehabilitation.
In addition to services available to all job seekers, the Montana Department of Labor has 10 veterans service representatives statewide. The department is hiring six additional veteran representatives for a federally funded pilot project that will focus on connecting Native American veterans to jobs. Those new hires, who are likely to be veterans themselves, will be placed in Job Service offices in Billings, Miles City, Wolf Point, Havre, Cut Bank and Polson.
In the quarter ended June 30, information compiled by the Montana Department of Labor indicated that 61 percent of veterans seeking jobs got hired, that 80 percent of those hired were retained and that 79 percent of the disabled veterans hired were retained in their jobs.
Montana has one of the highest state rates of unemployment for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, even though the state’s overall employment rate is below the national average. With a reported jobless rate of 20 percent for recent military veterans, Montana has a serious need for connecting veterans with jobs.
There are several reasons for a high unemployment rate for new veterans, Bernhardt said. Jobs may not be available in rural communities, veterans who enroll in college could be counted as jobless, veterans’ skills don’t always translate into the civilian experience they need to qualify for some jobs. The Senate-amended HR647 aims to address that credential problem.
Bernhardt said the proposed increases in veteran hiring incentives should help Montanans “as long as we do a good job on our end to make sure businesses know about them.”
Some Montana employers have taken advantage of the veterans hiring incentives. All businesses need to get the word.
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/gazette-opinion-more-work-to-do-on-getting-jobs-for/article_48e4eac2-4616-57e2-a9bf-2d186a04e5cd.html#ixzz1drjfEHLe
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