Partnership Marks 15 Years of Supporting Military Spouse Employment

Hundreds of employers across industries came together in January to share best practices, explore innovative strategies and celebrate 15 years of advancing military spouse employment.

The Military Spouse Employment Partnership inducted 168 new partners at its MSEP ENGAGE 2026 Annual Partner Meeting Jan. 29-30, at the Ronald Reagan Center, in Washington, D.C. The induction of MSEP’s newest partners brings its membership to more than 1,000 organizations since the partnership’s founding.

“We welcome our newest partners and applaud their commitment to recruiting, hiring, promoting and retaining military spouses,” said deputy assistant secretary of war for Military Community and Family Policy Stephen B. Simmons.

“Hiring military spouses isn’t just good for business, it strengthens our nation’s forces. When employers open doors to these talented professionals, they support the stability of our military families and foster spouse professional growth. A strong force depends on strong families and military spouse employment is essential to both.”

The Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program established MSEP in 2011 to counter high spouse unemployment, which is due in large part to frequent PCS moves as well as deployments and other military separations.

Roughly 20% of the more than 621,000 active-duty military spouses are unemployed, according to the 2024 Survey of Active Duty Spouses and the 2024 Demographics Report of the Military Community. That rate has dropped from 25% in 2012 but remains far higher than the 4.4% overall U.S. unemployment rate reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Military family economic well-being and personal fulfillment is critical to force readiness and retention, yet spouse unemployment and underemployment persist. The Department is transitioning from a passive, resource-available model to a proactive, data-driven approach to reduce military spouse unemployment from 20% to 15%.

Military spouses can learn about the new MSEP partners on MySECO and explore job opportunities through the MSEP Job Search.

About Military Community and Family Policy

Military Community and Family Policy is responsible for establishing and overseeing quality of life policies and programs that help our service members, their families and survivors be well and mission ready. Military OneSource is the gateway to programs and services that support the everyday needs of more than 4.3 million service members and immediate family members of the military community. Access these DOW services 24/7/365 around the world.

About Spouse Education and Career Opportunities

The DOW established the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program to provide education and career guidance to military spouses worldwide, offering free, comprehensive resources and tools to assist military spouses in meeting their career and education goals. This program also offers free career coaching services six days a week to eligible spouses.