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Small business owners that hire unemployed veterans would be eligible for tax credits under a veterans’ employment initiative introduced in the state Senate this week by Democrat Vincent Gregory of Southfield.
The Hire MI Heroes Act, which will also be introduced by Democrats in the House, will provide Michigan businesses that hire an unemployed veteran with a one-time tax credit of 25% of the veterans’ compensation up to $4,000.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 31,000 of the state’s nearly 650,000 veterans are unemployed. In 2013, Michigan had the second-highest veteran unemployment rate in the U.S., with a rate of 10.6 %, a full four percentage points above the national average for veterans.
The numbers are even worse for the newest veterans, with Michigan’s unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans at 13.5% in 2013, also more than 4% higher than the national rate.
