San Antonio’s USAA is among a contingent of companies that together have committed to hiring 435,000 military veterans and their spouses over the next five years.
The initiative was announced by first lady Michelle Obama at a White House event Tuesday.
Businesses have hired or trained 290,000 veterans and military spouses in less than two years, Michelle Obama said. That’s nearly triple the number of veterans and military spouses that President Barack Obama challenged the private sector to hire by the end of this year.
USAA and a handful other companies were recognized by Michelle Obama for taking part in the “Joining Forces” initiative to hire an additional 435,000 vets and military spouses.
“USAA is pledging that 30 percent of its new hires will be veterans or military spouses,” Michelle Obama said. The company previously has said one out of every four new hires is a veteran or military spouse.
Joe Robles, president and CEO of the financial services and insurance company, attended the White House event. USAA has hired 6,000 vets and military spouses since 2005, it said in a statement. The company, San Antonio’s largest private-sector employer, announced in March plans to add as many as 3,500 jobs over the next three years, including up to 1,000 in San Antonio. It already employs about 16,400 in San Antonio. The company would hire more than 1,000 vets and military spouses if it meets its goal. More than 1 million service members are expected to leave the military over the next five years.
Other companies that have committed to the initiative, with the number of vets and military spouses they said they will hire:
• Home Depot, 55,000
• UPS, 25,000
• BNSF Railway, 5,000
• AT&T, 5,000
• Wal-Mart has said it will hire any veteran, who served honorably, the year after he/she leaves the service.
With the improving economy, hiring of veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has picked up. The jobless rate for those vets was 9.9 percent last year, down from 12.1 percent in 2011. Still, that’s higher than national unemployment rate of 7.6 percent.
Speaking on the importance of hiring vets, President Obama said: “That’s our sacred obligation, to make sure they get the care, the benefits and the opportunities that they deserve, and that includes economic opportunities.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
