October 12, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) Veterans across the United States continue to benefit from a strong U.S. economy - employment numbers are up, the deficit is down, and the stock market is growing at a healthy pace.

"This economy is in full stride," said U.S. Sen. Larry Craig from his home in Boise, Idaho. Craig serves as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"On Wednesday the U.S. Treasury Department noted that the federal budget deficit has been cut in half, three years ahead of schedule, and last week the Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate for all Americans is now at 4.6 percent. Veterans are doing even better - their unemployment rate is 3.5 percent.

"Military veterans have the work ethic and job skills that make them desirable for employers, and employers are putting them to work. That's great news," Craig said.

In contrast to the strong U.S. trends, on Wednesday officials in the European Union warned that economic growth there was expected to fall to near zero in the first quarter of next year - most of that caused by a pending tax increase in Germany.

Unemployment in Europe is now at nearly 8 percent - with some nations doing worse than others. In France, for example, unemployment has recently been at just over 9 percent while unemployment in Germany stands at 10.1 percent.

"During the past three years, the U.S. economy has created more than 6.6 million jobs and it's clear that many of those jobs have gone to veterans. To put the American numbers in perspective, the U.S. has created more jobs than all other major industrialized countries combined. That is simply phenomenal," Craig said.

The strong employment news in the U.S. comes just as the Standard & Poor's index of 500 stocks has, within the past week, hit its highest level in more than five years, and gasoline prices have dropped more than 70 cents since August.

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