Educational flyers are displayed during the Keesler Job Fair inside the Bay Breeze Event Center at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, Nov. 14, 2022. The fair offered USA Jobs site navigation classes, resume writing classes and information tables with educational literature for attendees. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Image: Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue
By: FEDweek StaffMilitary spouses continue to face challenges finding and keeping employment, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Using data from a recent survey conducted by the Department of Defense, GAO reported that roughly half of the 540,000 civilian spouses of active-duty service members are working. Of those, some 88,000 – roughly one third – are working part time. Most – about 80 percent – are women.
Spouses who were interviewed by GAO reiterated long-standing concerns about challenges they face in the working world. Reports of being underpaid, overqualified, having few opportunities for career advancement and not earning retirement benefits were chief among their concerns. While other civilian spouses experience the same frustrations, military spouses said their situations were exacerbated by frequent moves and other aspects of military life.
The GAO report noted that spouses who identified as Hispanic or Black/African American, or had household incomes that exceeded $100,000 annually, or had no college education, were less likely to work part time. Spouses with children, or who worked blue-collar jobs, or had household incomes of less than $50,000, or had never experienced a military move, were more likely to hold part-time jobs.
The Defense Department was shown to be the largest employer of military spouses. About two thirds of the estimated 73,000 military spouses who held government jobs. Many serve as budget analysts, information technology specialists or nurses. The remaining 21,000 frequently hold jobs on base. Recreation centers and retail stores are common places of employment. Positions would include education and training, food service, and retail store work.
Childcare issues were cited as common reasons why spouses could not work full time. They need to be in jobs that offer flexibility, GAO noted, particularly when uniformed spouses are deployed and they have to serve as de facto single parents.
“I would like to be working full time. I have worked full time. But childcare is the major limiting factor. And it’s not just access to safe and affordable childcare,” one spouse told GAO. “When my spouse is on temporary duty assignment, like right now, I am in single-parent mode. There is no backup. I have no family nearby.”
Trump to move Space Command headquarters out of Colorado
National Guard Order Calls for Hiring More Fed LEOs, Military Unit Under Interior, DHS, Justice
Audit: Rise in ‘Severe Staffing Shortages’ at VA Medical Facilities
Marines Seek New Boots on the Ground
Can My Military Discharge be Upgraded? Yes
The Rules for Getting Both Military Retired Pay and a Federal Annuity
Credit for Military Service for Federal Retirement Annuities
