MILITARY SPOUSE
EMPLOYMENT FLASH SURVEY REPORT 4TH QUARTER 2021
PURPOSE & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Military Spouse Employment Flash Survey provides a snapshot of military spouses’ current employment conditions. The survey results allow Hiring Our Heroes to track emerging trends and convene cross-sector partners to improve military spouse employment outcomes. Hiring Our Heroes acknowledges the following organizations for their outreach support:
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KEY FINDINGS
34% are unemployed
are long-term unemployed
have not been in the labor force for more than a year
46%
60% biggest challenge faced as a job seeker is not receiving a response after applying
75%
26%
not in the labor force, but plan to actively seek work in the next 6 months
18% changed to remote status because of COVID-19; 47% indicate it’s permanent
1. A third of respondents participating in the labor force indicate they are unemployed.1 Three out of the five top reasons unemployed military spouse respondents report not working are related to lack of employment options in their line of work or area or being over/ underqualified for vacant positions based on education/experience. While most respondents had actively sought work for ten weeks or less, a quarter had experienced long-term unemployment (six months or longer). Figure 1.1 Employment Status
34%
Unemployed
66%
Employed
This survey defined unemployment as “Not employed but had actively sought work in the past four weeks (Actively seeking work may consist of any of the following activities: contacting employment opportunities and submitting resumes/filling out applications).”
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KEY FINDINGS Figure 1.2 Top 5 reasons for not currently working among unemployed respondents Top Reasons For Not Currently Working (Unemployed) 1
Couldn’t find any work or no work available in line of work or area
2
Preparing for/recovering from a PCS move
3
Overqualified for available positions based on education/experience
4
Underqualified for available positions based on education/experience
5
Choose to stay home to care for children
2. The biggest challenge unemployed respondents report facing as a job seeker is not receiving a response from a potential employer after applying for a role. Ninety percent of military spouse respondents indicated applying for jobs in the past four weeks. Still, less than half (42%) of respondents had interviewed with a potential employer and only a quarter (24%) indicated waiting for a pending job offer. Unemployed respondents are resourceful when searching for employment. Almost half (46%) indicated they had registered for jobseeking support to help with their job search (e.g., resume writing, interview practice, jobhunting strategies), and 37% had networked with hiring managers in the past four weeks. Figure 2.1 Biggest challenges facing unemployed respondents as a job seeker
60%
Not receiving a response from a potential employer after applying for a role
42%
Applying for 100% remote roles, including where or how to apply
27%
Applying for general roles, including where or how to apply
26%
Networking with potential employers
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KEY FINDINGS 3. The majority of respondents not in the labor force stopped working and stopped actively seeking work for more than a year. Thirteen percent of military spouse respondents indicate not participating in the labor force. Three of the top five reasons respondents report not working are related to their children and care. Most respondents (54%) not in the labor force do not plan to or do not know if they will return to actively seeking work in the next six months. Some of this was due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic’s Delta variant during this survey’s fielding. A third of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the variant kept them from making plans to return to work in the next six months. However, among those who plan to seek employment in the next six months actively, almost half (47%) plan to do so during the first two months of the new year (January and February 2022). Figure 3.1 Top 5 reasons for not currently working among respondents not in the labor force Top Reasons For Not Currently Working (Not in Labor Force) 1
Choosing to stay home to care for children
2
Preparing for/recovering from a PCS move
3
Childcare is too costly
4
Unable to work because service member’s unpredictable work schedule
5
Need to stay home to care for children (not related to special needs care)
4. Among respondents who changed to remote status due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half report the change is permanent. Two years since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, military spouses still face impacts on their employment situation. For some respondents, the inability to find work because of limited opportunities or leaving their job/experiencing a decrease in work hours due to childcare arrangements have negatively impacted their employment situation. However, for others, the pandemic has allowed respondents to change how and where they work. Eighteen percent of respondents report changing to remote work status due to the pandemic, among which almost half (47%) indicate this change is permanent. A little over a quarter of respondents did not know if their remote status was permanent or temporary, meaning more respondents may see their roles staying remote permanently in the future.
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KEY FINDINGS 5. Employed respondents feel they lead a purposeful and meaningful life at twice the rate of their unemployed counterparts. Respondents answered a series of questions related to aspects of flourishing, including whether they thought they led a purposeful and meaningful life. Overall, respondents generally agreed they led a purposeful and meaningful life. However, when broken down by employment status, employed respondents (60%) indicated almost double higher rates of agreement with the feeling than those who were unemployed (28%). Those not in the labor force reported the lowest agreement rate (12%). Figure 5.1 Percent of respondents who agree with the statement, “I lead a purposeful and meaningful life” by employment status
12% 28%
60%
Unemployed Employed (PT or FT) Not in Labor Force
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RECOMMENDATIONS 1.
Expand portable, flexible, and remote work options for military spouses. Doing so can address employment challenges such as lack of local employment options and childcare challenges. Offering remote work options may also ease concerns about the COVID-19 Delta variant among those who hesitate to return to work within the next six months. Studies have shown that the longer women, which military spouses are, are out of the labor force, the harder it is for them to reenter at the same level of advancement and pay.
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Increase opportunities for military spouse job seekers to network with potential employers. Networking can significantly help job seekers secure employment, and many organizations have shifted their workforce development curricula to include education about networking skills. Yet, military spouses still struggle with networking with employers, and many are not doing so despite actively seeking work. Increasing opportunities for networking with company hiring managers and widely sharing networking event opportunities may help reach more spouses.
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Recruit military spouses not in the labor force for returnship programs in early 2022. Military spouses not in the labor force are prime candidates for returnship programs which often require candidates to have not worked for a year or more. These programs can also play a critical role in seamlessly helping a spouse reenter the labor force. Employers can partner with military support organizations such as Hiring Our Heroes to recruit military spouses through existing Fellowship offerings or receive help spreading the word about their returnship programs.
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Connect unemployed military spouses and military spouses not in the labor force to opportunities that create purpose and meaning. For career-minded military spouses, not being employed can impact their well-being. Studies conducted on longterm unemployment are also associated with increased mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Connecting military spouses to opportunities that create purpose and meaning outside of employment may be a stopgap until they find a job.
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METHODOLOGY This research is the second iteration of Hiring Our Heroes’ Military Spouse Employment Flash Survey series. Conducted between September 27 and October 19, 2021, 1,591 military spouses responded to this online survey.
1,591 RESPONDENTS Participation in the survey was voluntary, and responses remained confidential. Some questions found within this survey were only available to specific respondents based on the survey branching technique for follow-up questions. Except for two questions necessary for eligibility and branching purposes, all remaining questions allowed respondents to select “prefer not to answer” or skip questions altogether and excluded from calculations. Therefore, the number of responses analyzed per question varied throughout the survey. Study limitations include possible sampling bias, such as respondents were primarily activeduty military spouses and likely connected to Hiring Our Heroes’ programs and initiatives, and potential survey instrument design limitations. Respondents might also over-or underrepresent the broader military spouse population. For this reason, these survey results are not to be generalized to describe every military spouses’ experience. Demographics of the Sample Eighty percent of respondents’ service members were currently serving on active duty, followed by 15% of respondents indicating their service member was a veteran or retired status. Over half of respondents report their service member was a member of the Army or Air Force. The majority of respondents reside within the Continental United States, and almost half (46%) of respondents currently live on the east coast. The majority of respondents had at least one child. Contact Information Please send questions about this research and other Hiring Our Heroes partnership opportunities to hohmilitaryspouse@uschamber.com.
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