Military spouses get a little hiring help

A drive to help military spouses in finding employment is expanding.

The San Antonio Business Journal reports that an initiative to boost hiring of military spouses—who otherwise can find it tough to get a job—is finding traction among companies.

In February, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation designated San Antonio as a military spouse economic empowerment zone as it sought to encourage the hiring not just of veterans, but also military spouses. Hiring our Heroes, an initiative of the foundation, expands on an existing initiative called the Hiring our Heroes Military Spouse Professional Network.

Related: Veterans quiet about military service in new civilian jobs

The program is designed to match workers and employers nationwide, with an emphasis on military spouses, who can find frequent moves a handicap to finding suitable work—or to finding a job at all.

According to The News Tribune, military spouses face an unemployment rate four times higher than all adult women and three times the rate for women aged 20–25. Not only is it tough for them to find work that fits their education and training—those with degrees finding it hardest—but they also face discrimination. In fact, they will often hide the fact that they live on a military base when applying for employment, according to the News Tribune, and some have been turned down by employers once they reveal how long they would be stationed in the area.

Earlier this month the president signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for military spouses to find work in the private and federal sectors. A DoD news report says that “the order holds agencies accountable for increasing their use of the noncompetitive hiring authority for military spouses” and encourages private companies to follow suit.

In San Antonio, approximately 30 companies are investing in military spouses. According to information provided by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the companies joining the program include San Antonio-based H-E-B Grocery Co., the largest employer in Texas, as well as East Coast defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and hotel operator La Quinta Inn & Suites.

The initiative is “still a work in progress,” Richard Perez, CEO of the San Antonio Chamber, told The San Antonio Business Journal. “Businesses are looking for qualified folks ready to work. Whether you’re a military spouse or not is not in their calculus, but maybe they can start asking. The idea is that could be now part of the conversation.” He points out that a military family’s decision on whether to stay in a particular market can depend on whether the spouse—man or woman—has a career.

Two more military spouse empowerment zones, the report adds, are located in Tampa, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, with plans to deploy another in Seattle.