Did you know that an estimated 24,000 members of the Reserve Component are unemployed, and a recent study determined that up to 50 percent of the Reserve enlisted force is underemployed?
What is underemployment? Essentially, thousands of Reserve Component members work in positions that do not leverage their full income potential and combined civilian and military talent. This can be due to military responsibilities, the high percentage of members in state and government civilian service, as well as Reserve members tending to work in fields that may pay less but accommodate military service and the provisions of USERRA.
A 2024 RAND study found that federal government employers had the highest prevalence of support for Reserve Component members, with state governments the least – even when compared with large private companies.
Reserve Component spouses are not immune to the impact of military service – their unemployment rate is 8 percent, double the national average.
ROA is building a suite of tools and partnerships to change this, including co-hosting an event with the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce on May 7, 2026, here at ROA Headquarters. Unemployment and underemployment are largely unstudied within the Reserve Components, so we have our homework to do, too!