This article is sponsored by VETS Indexes.

Employers are hiring more veterans now than ever before – but your chances of landing a job can vary dramatically depending on the type of organization to which you're applying, new data shows.

In some industries, nearly half of employees are veterans; in others, vets represent 5 percent or less of the workforce, according to data from the annual VETS Indexes Employer Awards survey.

Overall since 2018, the percentage of new hires that veterans make up has risen steadily in organizations' survey responses. That year, military veterans represented just 8 percent of new hires among all organizations participating in the VETS Indexes survey. The next year, that number rose to 13 percent, then 15 percent in 2021. By 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, a whopping 18 percent of all hires were veterans.

This consistent positive trend line – continuing despite volatile economic conditions, global instability, and even a worldwide pandemic – demonstrates the remarkable progress made in veteran employment in recent years.

Our team at VETS Indexes has taken a unique, data-driven approach to help build a more inclusive employment market for veterans, and the insights we have unearthed can help veterans looking for jobs, as well as the organizations seeking to hire them.

For employers that are new to the veteran space, our Employing U.S. Vets Conference is an invaluable resource. This day-long event, held twice a year, features veteran employment thought leaders discussing best practices and pitfalls to avoid when building veterans programs.

The Veteran Employment Benchmarking Service is another essential tool for employers to improve their recruiting and retention of veterans. This provides custom analysis of an organization's strengths and weaknesses, showing how the employer compares to its peers and suggesting particular policy and program changes that can have a big impact.

And for organizations that are leaders in veteran employment, the VETS Indexes Employer Awards program recognizes and broadcasts their achievements far and wide.

If you're a veteran in the job market, our Employer Awards program can help you figure out which organizations might be the best fit.

Start with our latest list of VETS Indexes Employer Award recipients. The 5 Star Employers listed at the top are our most highly rated awardees, but every organization on the list has demonstrated a commitment to hiring veterans.

In addition, VETS Indexes' research has uncovered data that can help veterans decide which industries and organization profiles to target when scouring job listings.

If you have skills that are relevant to multiple industries, you might want to start with employers in the education, management, or computer systems industries, which posted the highest veteran employee populations. Employers in the wholesale and retail trade industries charted the lowest proportion of veteran employees.

Another key factor to consider is employer size.

Smaller companies responding to our survey tended to have a greater proportion of veteran employees than did larger companies.

But you should also keep in mind that larger companies will have more positions to fill, which could make it easier to get your foot in the door.

What is most important is landing at an employer that understands and values the skills of veterans. And if your company has some room to improve here, make sure they know all the ways VETS Indexes can help!