I’d like to tell you a story about Samantha, a military spouse who lives overseas with her family on assignment. Samantha is a cashier at the Commissary on base, despite studying law and working as a paralegal in the States. While she does have some flexibility to be home around her children’s school schedule, she can’t help feeling overqualified for this job and overlooked by an organization that could better leverage her skills and experience. She does not want to be ungrateful – jobs on base are hard to get. And besides, she thinks to herself, This job isn’t forever, since they will move again in a few years. A thought that already brings on anxiety about having to quit, move, and start the long process of finding a new job all over again. To top it off, she doesn’t even know where they will go until they get their next orders in a year.

If only Samantha’s story were an outlier. In reality, this is a common experience among military spouses. They live in a world of constant change, where every new set of orders sends them to different corners of the country or even across the globe. The process is tough for the entire family, but military spouses have the additional challenge of finding and maintaining stable employment through every PCS (permanent change of station). As we all know, our careers are a matter of identity, contribution, and financial security. For most of us, our employment also impacts the entire family’s health and well-being.

There were nearly a million military spouses between active duty (580,000) and reserve personnel (345,000) in the United States as of 2022. The vast majority of these spouses are women (87%) and most (80%) are in their prime working years at 26 years of age or older with 60% of them between the ages of 26 and 40. They are a well-educated group, with 62% holding at least one academic degree and 44% holding at least a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree. They are qualified, capable, and eager to contribute. 

Even with their qualifications, steady employment frequently remains out of reach. Fourteen years ago, the military spouse unemployment rate stood at a staggering 26%. For context, the national unemployment rate at that time was 9.6%, and the unemployment rate for veterans was 11.5%. Over the years, the national unemployment rate has steadily declined, reaching 3.7% by August 2024. The veteran unemployment rate has finally dropped to 3% yet the needle has barely moved for military spouse unemployment, which at 21% is marginally better than it was a decade ago. 

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) needs to create solutions tailored specifically to military spouses—solutions that are not just adaptations of veterans’ programs but are designed with the distinct challenges these families face in mind. The challenges military spouses face are different from the veterans, which means the solutions they receive must be different too.

Access to Employment Opportunities

While a portion of the military spouse community opts out of the workforce intentionally, the number is not enough to account for the high unemployment rate. One study reported that 42% of military spouses were not in the labor force and were seeking employment. Over the past 15 years, the DOD has ramped up efforts to combat the high unemployment rate among military spouses, recognizing the toll it takes on their careers. Various government programs have improved access to education, professional development opportunities, and jobs in every sector.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the Biden administration have been championing military spouse employment programs throughout their term, so headway is being made in terms of resources for military spouse employment. However, for many of these programs, you must be stateside to enter the programs (such as Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas, or DETO, positions).

And the unemployment rate persists. Military spouses must re-establish themselves every few years as their families receive new orders. Without this crucial element of remote, autonomous options, even the best-laid programs and initiatives to improve employment rates (as shown in LVL-Up Strategies’s Military Spouse Fact Sheet) fall short, and the stagnant unemployment rate reflects the outcome of the efforts. 

Despite increased access to employment resources and opportunities, additional strategies need to be deployed to continue combatting the high unemployment rate among military spouses.

Resource Sharing and Partnerships Between Departments and the Private Sector

One way to improve the effectiveness of existing programs is to promote collaboration between the DOD and the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Eligible Family Members (EFMs) face similar challenges as their partners serve in the DOS’s Foreign Service: rising costs of living, limited job opportunities, the overwhelming process of navigating new job markets, and balancing work while being the primary caregiver. Despite their similar struggles, the resources available to EFMs from the DOS are underdeveloped when compared to what military spouses receive from the DOD. That said, EFMs tend to be more globally posted, and military spouses could learn from the remote career experiences of EFMs via DOD programming.

Partnerships between departments could create more spokes to the employment wheel, allowing for a broader range of opportunities and solving resource exploitation. For example, a military spouse may find opportunities available on base, through spouse-designated positions, or via a DETO (Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas) pathway. However, there are not enough of these positions to support every spouse who wants to work. DETO positions may require office space and equipment, so resources will eventually run out even for options other than open positions on base. Adding a private sector “spoke” to the spouse employment wheel would create more job opportunities and add industry options. 

We can build pathways and navigate complex barriers like SOFA requirements, insurance laws, and taxes. Partnering across departments and with the private sector could open up even more remote, autonomous working opportunities while conserving limited base resources. Sharing resources also allows the agencies to enhance communications, learn from each other’s successes, and improve programs.

For some military spouses, remote and autonomous work is difficult, lonely, and requires technological intuition. On the other hand, the hiring company may not be suited to support a remote workforce and maintain thriving productivity and culture. Partnerships with companies that prepare employers for a remote workforce and prepare employees to work remotely can precisely address the needs of military spouses and EFMs. We applaud the Military Spouse Employment Program for moving some professional development in this direction. However, they need even more partners to support demand.  

There are many types of military spouses. Some would prefer to work part-time jobs on base to be a part of the community and work fewer hours. Others would prefer to continue building on their careers elsewhere. Either way, flexibility is the key for military spouses because the one thing they know is coming is a permanent change of station. 

More Flexibility in the Jobs

There is a rising interest in remote work. For example, spouses and family members stationed in Italy can now telework while retaining essential Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) protections, expanding their employment opportunities. Many SOFA agreements do not address remote work and military spouses assume that means remote work is not an option for them. However virtual access is growing. In FY 2022, the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) Career Counseling Center conducted more than 155,000 virtual coaching sessions and maintained a 98% satisfaction rate among spouse users. Efforts are being made to support the military spouses’ desire to work, but more work needs to be done to match military spouses up with flexible career opportunities.

As we saw, the veterans unemployment rate went down when access to professional development, education, and job opportunities was provided through DOD initiatives. But why didn't military spouse unemployment rates similarly decrease? 

We at LVL-Up believe it is because veterans who have left the military are staying in one place, able to accept an in-person, on-site position. This is often not the case for military spouses. They need even more flexibility because they are still moving with their military families. They need to be able to take their job with them. 

One way to address this is to look back at our partnership suggestions. Hire companies that excel in remote workforce training to build out and advise government, nonprofit, and private organizations that have already partnered with the DOD on military spousal employment initiatives. These advising companies can help partner organizations offer not just jobs to military spouses but flexible and remote jobs that comply with complex restrictions and laws.

Solutions are available to create space for military spouse employment. Ensuring their success will provide improved support to our military spouses, but these solutions will also ensure that the DOD and Foreign Service keep their highly sought-after talent pool of civil and military servants. 

Download the U.S. Military Spouse Employment Fact Sheet

Read about military spouse unemployment and the government’s efforts to address it in LVL-Up Strategies’s fact sheet.

About LVL-Up Strategies

LVL-Up Strategies is an SBA Certified 8(a) and WOSB firm that provides effective professional services to organizations of various sizes – from self-employed entrepreneurs to government agencies. LVL-Up is a team of foreign service and military dependents who work with business leaders across private, nonprofit, and government sectors through management consulting, human resources, and communications support.