By Steven Angeles and Balitang America Staff, ABS CBN News, North America Bureau
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SANTA MONICA - In California where unemployment is at 12%, soldiers are having an even tougher time finding a job.  Archie Mendoza is a former U.S. Marine and police officer. He is now faced with his toughest battle yet, unemployment. Mendoza was laid off from his most recent job, working with a security company last march.

Archie Mendoza said,” Nowadays I’m not very picky, any job will suffice.”

The U.S. Department of Labor says as of March, unemployment among veterans was close to 15%. That’s nearly 5 points higher than the jobless rate among civilians, which is at 9.7%.

Some employers believe veterans’ military skills may not transfer well to civilian workplaces. Another setback for veterans is their physical or mental states after combat.

Michael O’Gorman is the founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. He said the answer to unemployment may be the farming industry. He said veterans are needed to replace retiring farmers.

“As an agricultural community, we have a special niche because we need them more than they need us, and being needed is actually a very good thing for them,” said O’Gorman.

O’Gorman also stated that experience in war zones such as manual labor, being outdoors, and working with a team, helps veterans become good farmers. It is an option that Mendoza said he is considering.

“If it gives me an opportunity, I would definitely jump on it. It’ll give me a new experience, to learn new trades, market, be a lot more profitable when it comes to looking for a new job,” said Mendoza.

For the time being Mendoza said he’s getting by on disability and unemployment benefits as an Iraq War veteran. While he looks for a new job, he has decided to live with his parents.

Some veterans fear unemployment will go up even higher.  More veterans will be returning back home when the war begins to wind down.

Jobless Claims Rise
Economists worry that unemployment will rise when the report comes out on Friday.  It is expected to go up to 9.8% from its current 9.7%.  The private sector has been reluctant to open up jobs and the public sector is losing up to 100,000 jobs when the census jobs end.

The number of jobless claims went up to a seasonally adjusted 472,000 claims last week. There were 4.62 million people receiving unemployment benefits.   This is the second time in three weeks that it has risen.  Over 1 million people have already lost their benefits and the number is expected to go up to 3.3 million by the end of July, if Congress does not pass an extension of federal aid.

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