Walmart Hires More Than 14,000 Military Spouses in 12 months

To celebrate Veterans Day, Walmart further cemented its commitment to service members and their families with announcements on the company’s military spouse initiative and veteran hiring commitment. Since launching the Military Spouse Career Connection (MSCC) on Veterans Day 2018, Walmart has hired more than 14,000 military spouses and remains ahead of schedule to meet its goal of hiring 250,000 military veterans by the end of 2020. Walmart also announced the hiring of Brynt Parmeter as the new senior director of military programs and a $225,000 Walmart Foundation grant to Operation Homefront.

Walmart Hires More Than 14,000 Military Spouses

Walmart remains the largest U.S. company offering hiring preference to military spouses. The company introduced the MSCC program in 2018 as a complement to its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment to hire 250,000 military veterans by the end of 2020.

“This company has a long history of supporting members of the military and their families,” said Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner. “Last year, we decided to address the high unemployment rate among military spouses, by launching the Military Spouse Career Connection. Military spouses are capable and qualified for a variety of jobs offered by Walmart and Sam’s Club, and we wanted many more of them to join our family.”

According to the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Spouse Employment Partnership, 77 percent of military spouses want or need work, yet they face barriers to finding and maintaining employment due to the frequent relocation of their active duty spouses.

The DoD Military Spouse Employment Partnership also reports that more than 36 percent of military spouses relocated within the last 12 months, and this more than doubled their odds for being unemployed.

“After years of not being able to find an employer flexible enough to work with my schedule, I applied to Walmart and indicated that I was a military spouse,” said Amy Roper, Walmart Associate in Spring Lake, N.C. “I received a call back almost immediately, and Walmart made me feel like a welcome part of their family from the very beginning. They found a way to work with my schedule, and I’ve been proud to work for a company that goes to great lengths to support service members, veterans and their families.”