Spouse Employment In The Army

This research confirms that, while many spouses of military service members work and seek education similar to their "look-alike" civilian counterparts, they often lag these equals in terms of finding jobs and receiving comparable pay. Based on the input of more than 1,100 military spouses concerning their employment and educational pursuits as well as other data analysis, the RAND researchers offer recommendations for the Department of Defense to improve quality-of-life issues for its members and spouses, which in the long run will help the department retain the qualified personnel it needs.

Successful recruiting and retention of the active duty force relies in large part on the extent to which service members and their spouses experience both job satisfaction and contentment with life in the military. In his February 12, 2001, speech at Fort Stewart, Georgia, President Bush acknowledged the importance of caring not just for service members but their entire families, pledging, "We owe you and your families a decent quality of life. ... Service members deserve a military that treats them and their families with respect. A major challenge to ensuring familywide quality of life is overcoming the hurdles to military spouse employment. Data indicate that the majority of military spouses are in the workforce; however, research indicates that they have difficulty finding jobs and that limited career opportunities for military spouses may be a factor in military personnel leaving the service. Given its impact on service member contentment and retention, spouse employment and education is thus an area of significant concern to the military. This study seeks to (1) provide a richer and more detailed depiction of military spouse employment and earnings, (2) explore the degree to which employment is problematic for military spouses, and (3) identify policies to reconcile spouse employment issues with the military's need to retain qualified personnel.

Focusing on military wives' contribution to family income, the authors find that, in contrast to civilian wives, military wives are willing to accept lower wages rather than search longer for jobs. They work less than civilian wives if they have young children but more if their children are older; are less probable to work as they get older; and respond to changes in the unemployment rate as workers with a permanent attachment to the work force, not as "added workers."

MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS: DOD Can Improve Guidance and Performance Monitoring

"Why GAO Did This StudyThe approximately 725,000 spouses ofactive duty servicemembers facechallenges to maintaining a career,including having to move frequently.Their employment is often important tothe financial well-being of their families.For these reasons, DOD has takensteps in recent years to help militaryspouses obtain employment.Moreover, the federal government hashiring mechanisms to help militaryspouses obtain federal jobs.The National Defense AuthorizationAct for Fiscal Year 2012 requires GAOto report on the programs that helpmilitary spouses obtain jobs. Thisreport examines: (1) DOD's recentefforts to help military spouses obtainemployment, (2) DOD's steps toassess effectiveness of these efforts,and (3) the hiring mechanisms to helpmilitary spouses obtain federal jobs.GAO conducted interviews with DOD,the Office of Personnel Management,and two advocacy groups; conductedsite visits; analyzed relevant data; andreviewed relevant documents, laws,and regulations.GAO RecommendsGAO recommends that DOD considerincorporating (1) key collaborationpractices as it develops its spouseemployment guidance, and (2) keyattributes of successful performancemeasures as it develops and finalizesits performance measures. DODpartially concurred with the tworecommendations, citing steps it hasalready taken. GAO recognizes DOD's"

Provides advice on how military spouse's can find and keep a job while married to the military.