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WASHINGTON — Finding a job in this economy is a struggle for just about anyone who is looking. That’s true, too, for many veterans, despite diverse skill sets and government initiatives aimed at helping them find work.

The unemployment rate for new veterans — those who have left active duty in the past decade — has been steadily outpacing civilian unemployment.

Bureau of Labor and Statistics that in August, the jobless rate for new veterans was 9.8 percent. By October, it was 12.1 percent. Last month it dipped back to 11.1 percent, still higher than November’s national unemployment rate of 8.6 percent.

A report found that the unemployment rate among new veterans in Hawaii was 6.0 percent in 2010, slightly lower than the statewide unemployment rate. Overall, Hawaii unemployment averaged 6.6 percent last year, according to from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics¹.

Such numbers are positive compared with unemployment statistics in places like Michigan, where the jobless rate for new veterans was 29.4 percent and the statewide unemployment rate was 10.3 percent last year. But state-by-state comparisons provide little comfort to veterans who are still looking for work in Hawaii.

Former Army officer Joseph Yu, 29, was unemployed for more than a year after he returned to Honolulu after his second deployment to Iraq.

Just this month, in the days after Civil Beat interviewed him, Yu finally found a job.

“Army reserves has me gainfully employed and busy,” he wrote in an email.

But the road getting to that point was filled with uncertainty and frustration. In the military, Yu led a unit of soldiers and gained experience in logistics, contracts, budgeting and other areas.

“Almost every business has a logistics component,” Yu told Civil Beat before he found work. “I thought it would be a lot easier to find a job, and that’s what I was told. But it isn’t that easy. I’ve been applying every week to multiple positions and I don’t hear anything back.”

Not only was Yu job-hunting in a weak economy but he was also competing for jobs against internal candidates and fellow soldiers who, in many cases, are much older and more experienced.

“I didn’t realize this at first, but I was obviously not the only one getting out (of the Army),” Yu said. “For a lot of these jobs — and there weren’t many here in Hawaii — I was competing against people 20 years older. There’s no way, even as an officer, that I could compete.”

While Yu said that the military provided “a lot” of help with the initial transition back to Hawaii, remaining unemployed was stressful, especially once Yu and his wife became new parents.

“I have a baby boy now, and that’s added responsibility that I never expected,” Yu said. “Even (looking for jobs) in Virginia and D.C., a lot of the positions have decreased. There are still no jobs.”

More frustrating still, Yu said, were experiences designed to help veterans find employment that didn’t pan out. A military job fair in Hawaii turned out to be a major disappointment when Yu found that the majority of the companies that participated weren’t actually hiring — but just attempting to show support for the troops by being involved.

“I had high hopes for this thing,” Yu said. “There were 50 employers but most of them didn’t have job openings. Why did they even show up? They handed out pamphlets with websites and I expected they would have open positions but there was nothing.”

Other jobs resources for veterans produced listings for bartending gigs and the like. A search for Hawaii jobs through the White House’s turns up many listings for valets, busboys, door attendants, housekeepers and similar positions.

“Even lower-enlisted soldiers, they have the skills and experiences and work ethic that they could do bigger things than that,” Yu said. “They’ve got to give you a chance. As a solider you do so many things. You might be a generator mechanic but you’ll also have 10 different things on your plate — you might also be an environmental inspector.”

Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, both veterans themselves, have been strong advocates for programs to help returning vets. Both have said that without federal programs like the G.I. Bill, which enabled them to attend college after serving in World War II, they wouldn’t have found the success they enjoy today.

The federal government prioritizes hiring vets over non-vets when candidates are considered to be otherwise comparably qualified, and the Department of Defense that nearly 29 percent of federal hires this year went to veterans.

But Inouye points out that even federal programs and assistance for veterans cannot overcome the country’s larger economic quagmire.

“Today, even with (preferential treatment for veterans), the assistance is limited,” Inouye said. “What are you going to do, make jobs?”

In November, President Barack Obama signed into law an initiative to help veterans find jobs. The new law includes tax credits for businesses that hire veterans — including up to $9,600 for companies that hire disabled vets — and a slew of new and in-person job-hunting resources.

As part of the White House’s , Obama challenged the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans or military spouses by the end of 2013.

Yu said he was happy to hear about the law, particularly the incentives for businesses that hire vets, but he’s also realistic about how quickly such legislation might actually make a difference.

“It’s probably going to take some time to catch on,” Yu said. “It might work but right now I don’t think everyone is jumping out of their seats to hire just because they get tax breaks. As they employ veterans and see they’re a huge asset, maybe then something will happen.”

When he was still looking for employment, Yu said it was hard not to question if there was something he could be doing differently.

“Do I need to lower my expectations and take a job that’s not on par with my experiences?” Yu said. “There’s no reason why I should not have a job but I thought I would be able to get a job that would coincide with my experience. It’s really about, are they willing to give me a chance?”