The unemployment rate among military veterans plunged to a record low 2.7 percent in October, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
According to the BLS data, the veteran unemployment rate dropped to 2.7 percent from 4.3 percent in 2016 and was down from nearly 10 percent in 2010.
The BLS added that among post-9/11 veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the unemployment rate hovered around 3.6 percent. In October 2016, the unemployment rate for this group of veterans was 4.7 percent, and in 2009 it was 10.2 percent.
The agency noted that the improved numbers come after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused a slight uptick in the unemployment rate in September.
The White House touted the falling unemployment rate as evidence that President Trump’s plans to revitalize the economy are working.
“With nearly 1.5 million new jobs since the president took office, including over 260,000 last month, it’s clear his agenda is putting Americans back to work,” the White House said in a statement.
Critics say that the falling unemployment rate points to a less rosy picture of the economy because many Americans have given up on looking for work.
The data for the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report comes from a survey of American households breaking down unemployment by each demographic.