May Is Military Spouse Appreciation Month

Joe Wallace

It’s an annual tradition: Military Spouse Appreciation Month in May is when the Department of Defense raises awareness of the sacrifices made by military spouses. The agency also supports military spouses in achieving personal goals and advancing their careers.

Military Spouse Appreciation Month

Each military branch observes Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Observances range from unit-level and base-level activities and events to virtual seminars and how-tos for military spouses to participate in online. Local units may have spouse employment fairs. Some bases go above and beyond for spouses in May; others may be unable to do so due to mission requirements or operational tempo.

Read next: Military Spouse Appreciation Day Discounts

There are approximately a million military spouses. As the DoD press release about Military Spouse Appreciation Month reminds us, military spouses are subject to “frequent moves to long separations while their spouse is on deployment.”

How does military life affect spouses? An Active Duty Spouse Survey hosted on MilitaryOneSource.com found that frequent location changes required when a servicemember receives a permanent change of station order can complicate spouses’ efforts to maintain a career.

Military Spouse Facts

• The unemployment rate for military spouses has been roughly 21% since 2015.
• Childcare issues were given as the main reasons a spouse was unemployed at survey time.
• Over half of the active duty spouses surveyed worked for “an employer that offered flexible scheduling.”
• PCS moves “increased the odds of unemployment significantly.”
• Living off-base and paying for civilian child care “decreased the odds of unemployment.”
• Being unemployed and needing new credentials after the last PCS move “each increased the odds of low financial well-being.”
• One in four active duty spouses “experienced low or very low food security.”
• Unemployment, children living at home, and having a working spouse contributing less than 50% to household income “increased the odds of low food security” according to the study.

Military Spouse Appreciation Month Comes With Opportunities

The month of May isn’t the only time the Defense Department tries to help mil spouses; the DOD 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. “ Military spouses can use the agency’s free career coaching options most days of the week.