Excerpt: “American military spouses, who number approximately 690,000, are a diverse population. Like their active duty husbands and wives, they come from varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, and bring a diversity of skills to the labor market. But military spouses face a particular challenge: they often find their labor market activities, including choices over whether to work, how many hours, and in what occupation, to be subject to the geographic and temporal constraints imposed by their active duty spouse. Spouses of service men and women stationed abroad are particularly disadvantaged, as foreign hosts often do not grant spousal work visas. But even stateside assignments can bring difficulties. Military families typically move every two to three years, requiring frequent labor market adjustments for those who do not have remote work arrangements. In anticipation of frequent moves, employers may be reluctant to hire military spouses or they may offer these workers a lower wage in an attempt to recover turnover costs.”
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