Governor Tim Walz proclaimed May 2026 as Hire a Veteran Month. The proclamation highlights the "unique value veterans bring to the state's labor force, encourages Minnesota employers to hire veterans, and recognizes the challenges veterans may face when transitioning to civilian employment or looking for work after returning from a military deployment." The cornerstone of this month's recognition is the 20th Annual Veterans Career Fair on Wednesday, May 20th, at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center. The event includes employers, resume review assistance, interview preparation help, a LinkedIn photography station, and service providers offering assistance for veterans and their families. The event is for all U.S. military veterans, current service members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, military spouses, and Gold Star families.

In addition to the Annual Veterans Career Fair, there are many other dedicated career resources available to you. Here are some of those resources:

• Veterans Employment Specialists – These representatives can help you with your career planning, job search, and can connect you with other resources.
• Veterans Education Benefits
  • VA Education and Training Benefits
  • Minnesota GI Bill
• CareerForce – Look up hiring events, career fairs, resume and interviewing resources, and even see how your military experience translates to civilian occupations.
• Disability Resources – Get information about vocational rehabilitation if you have a disability.
• On-the-Job Training and Apprenticeship Programs – Resources available through the MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
• Additional resources for veterans

And there's always the Department of Employment and Economic Development's (DEED) /deed/data/index.jspLabor Market Information to turn to as well. DEED's LMI resources include career information, located in tools such as /deed/data/data-tools/oid/index.jspOccupations in Demand, /deed/data/data-tools/career-education-explorer/index.jspCareer and Education Explorer, /deed/data/data-tools/oes/index.jspOccupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and /deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/index.jspEmployment Projections. Similarly, CareerOneStop has some resources available for veterans.

With this blog's final mention on labor market information, let's look at some of the latest numbers for veterans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA had about 142,800 veterans living in the region in 2024. The single largest share of these veterans (37.4%) served during the Vietnam War. A large share (41.0%) also served during either of the Gulf War eras (those eras being August 1990-August 2001 and September 2001 or later). Smaller shares of veterans living in the region served during the Korean War (3.4%) or during WWII (0.7%) (Figure 1).

When zeroing in on the veteran population in the region between the ages of 18 and 64 years, a high share participated in the regional labor force. This share, at 82.4%, was slightly less than the respective share of nonveterans participating in the labor force, at 85.3%. At the time, in 2024, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.9%. This was slightly higher than the respective unemployment rate for nonveterans, at 3.7%. It should also be noted that a significantly higher share of veterans reported having a disability (28.7%) than nonveterans (12.3%).

To discover more about the Twin Cities Metro Area, Contact Tim O'Neill, Labor Market Analyst, at Timothy.ONeill@state.mn.us