For many Americans, Veterans Day comes and goes as a holiday from school or work. Most of us put time aside to thank veterans for the service that they’ve given to the nation, or to reflect on our own service to our country.

Recently, however, America has come up with more tangible ways of thanking veterans.

This year, employers across the nation are improving job opportunities for veterans. Major corporations including Microsoft, Starbucks and Walmart are making an effort to hire more veterans and spouses of veterans.

The new effort to make more jobs available for veterans is long overdue. According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, misconceptions about veterans being ‘damaged’ by their experiences might make it more difficult for some veterans to find work after returning home.

The LA Times article stated that “post-9/11 veterans ages 20 to 24 are 81 percent more likely to be unemployed than their non-veteran peers, and those ages 25 to 29 are 71 percent more likely to be out of a job.”

The unemployment numbers, according to CNN, are just as grim. The unemployment rate for younger veterans who served after 9/11 is 10 percent. This is alarmingly high in comparison to the nation’s overall jobless rate of 7.3 percent.

These statistics are disappointing when considering the amount of time and service that veterans have devoted to serving the nation.

Misconceptions about veterans play a major role in creating this discrepancy, and it is only by correcting these misjudgments that employers will finally begin to evaluate potentially employers without bias.

It will take a nation-wide effort to improve opportunities for veterans, but given the amount of dedication that they have shown for our nation, it is a worthy effort indeed.