Military Spouse Employment: Endless Adaptation, Limited Progress
Published on May 22, 2026
By Sierra Martinez | Senior Manager, Digital Marketing & Innovation
For more than a decade, military spouse unemployment has remained above 20% — that's several times higher than the national average. And despite years of awareness campaigns and hiring initiatives, many military spouses are still struggling to build stable, long-term careers.
That's why the latest research is so important. It shows this is not because military spouses lack education, experience, or ambition. In fact, nearly half of military spouses hold advanced degrees, a rate far higher than that of the general population. Yet many still find themselves unemployed or underemployed.
Navy Federal Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union, and USAA, in partnership with Blue Star Families (BSF) and the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), released findings this week that show what military families have long recognized: The challenges are structural, not individual.
This three-year study followed military spouses to better understand how military life impacts careers in the long term. Researchers found that employment challenges didn't happen in isolation. In fact, they compound over years of relocations, career interruptions, childcare disruptions, licensing barriers, and limited workplace flexibility.
Military families know that every PCS can mean:
- leaving behind professional networks
- losing seniority or promotions
- restarting job searches
- navigating new state licensing requirements
- explaining gaps in employment history
- and many other challenges.
Over time, these disruptions can affect not only income but also confidence, retirement savings, career growth, and family stability.
The study also identified what actually helps military spouses stay employed and build sustainable careers. The strongest predictors of long-term employment success were:
- flexible work arrangements
- career portability
- mentorship and professional support networks
In other words, spouses are more likely to succeed when employers accommodate the specific realities of military life rather than expecting military families to adhere to conventional career paths. Success can happen when military spouses have opportunities like:
- remote and hybrid work
- portable careers that move across duty stations
- employers that understand deployment and PCS cycles
- hiring practices that don’t penalize resume gaps
These opportunities don’t just benefit military spouses; they strengthen military families as a whole. Stable spouse employment is closely tied to financial security, service member retention, readiness, and overall family well-being.
The message behind the research is clear: Military spouses are not struggling because they lack talent. They’re struggling because military life was never designed around traditional career stability.
If you are interested, you can find the full study and explore the employer playbook here: https://bluestarfam.org/mse-research-copy-2/.
If you are looking for work or would like to strengthen your resume through certifications due to some resume gaps, join our Blue Star Careers Community: https://neighborhood.bluestarfam.org/topics/29333/page/welcome.
We are committed to empowering military families, no matter where military life takes you.