The Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) represents one of the most visible success stories in raising corporate awareness about military spouse employment. Since 2011, MSEP has expanded to over 950 committed employer partners who have collectively hired over 360,000 military spouses. MSEP has developed a highly visible platform that connects employers across sectors with a talented, motivated workforce that has historically been overlooked. It is a strong foundation worth building on. 

Still, awareness has not translated into outcomes at the scale military spouses need. Military spouse unemployment remains persistently high at 20%, with little improvement over the past decade. Data show that the primary challenge lies not in employer interest but rather in the failure to effectively implement hiring initiatives. Many organizations who want to hire military spouses lack the internal systems, processes, and management practices necessary to translate commitment into sustained employment outcomes.

The reach MSEP has created is the exact infrastructure that can close this gap and do more for military spouses. The next phase of the program needs to move beyond simply connecting employers with military spouse talent; it needs to also help equip employer partners with training, tools, and support to turn connections into durable careers. Expanding MSEP’s role from awareness and access to implementation and support would allow the partnership to deliver stronger outcomes for both employers and military families.

A Workforce That Deserves Better Outcomes

In virtually any other context, military spouses would be considered desirable candidates in today’s competitive talent market. Eighty-four percent have completed some college education or higher. Nearly one-third hold a bachelor’s degree, and 18% have earned an advanced degree. In addition to educational achievements, military spouses bring experience across diverse sectors, including healthcare, education, business, technology, and skilled trades, and many hold professional licenses and certifications. 

Despite these qualifications, their unemployment rate is nearly five times the national average. The highest unemployment rates occur among younger spouses aged 18-34, a period when most professionals are establishing and advancing their careers. Underemployment is also prevalent with surveys estimating rates of 35-40%, and income gaps that widen, rather than narrow, among the most educated spouses. 

However, these outcomes are not a reflection of workforce quality. They are a reflection of employment systems that were not designed with this workforce in mind. 

Where the Execution Gap Lives

MSEP’s success in building both employer and employee awareness and facilitating initial connections is real and well-documented. But research shows that employee partners need an additional layer of support, an operational layer that enables organizations to not only hire military spouses, but to also develop and retain them beyond their first duty station. 

Several patterns consistently appear across partner organizations:

• Tracking Gaps: 68% of partner employers interviewed reported that they do not track military spouses through the application process. This results in many companies having little or no visibility into whether their recruitment pipeline is actually reaching the military spouse talent pool. 
• Decentralized Hiring: Approximately 55% of partners operate with decentralized hiring structures, where regional teams may be aware of the MSEP commitment but are not actively implementing it in their day-to-day hiring and employment practices. 
• Discretionary Telework Policies: While 77% of partners offer some form of telecommuting, approval in most cases is left to individual manager discretion, with no formal policy that survives a PCS.

Employers are not falling short because they do not care. They are being asked to solve complex workforce challenges without the processes, guidance, or support needed to do it successfully.

A Framework for Closing the Implementation Gap+

MSEP partner organizations need more than access to military spouse talent. Closing the gap between commitment and execution requires three elements working together: 

1. Establishing a community where employers can learn from one another. 
2. Equipping organizations with the operational tools to formalize effective practices.
3. Training the people closest to day-to-day hiring and retention decisions.

Each element addresses a distinct point where implementation breaks down. Together, they provide MSEP employer partners a practical path from signed commitment to sustainable outcomes, not just at one location, but across duty stations and over time.

Our forthcoming white paper details how each component works, what it looks like in practice, and how organizations of every size and sector can apply it.

The Opportunity in Front of MSEP Right Now

MSEP has built a national network of employers who have raised their hands, arguably the hardest part of solving the military spouse unemployment crisis. Strengthening that network with structured implementation support is the necessary next step, and the time is now. The employer community is in place. The research is clear on where the gaps are. The solutions are practical and scalable across organizations of every size and sector.

The employers who joined MSEP made a meaningful commitment. A structured implementation framework will offer them the ability to fulfill it, not just once but repeatedly and  reliably.

Our forthcoming white paper, From Pledge to Practice: Strengthening Employer Outcomes in Military Spouse Hiring, explores this framework in depth. It draws on research from the RAND Corporation, Blue Star Families, Hiring Our Heroes, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families to outline a concrete, three-phase model for closing the implementation gap. It is written for MSEP employer partners who are ready to increase their impact on military spouse employment and for program leadership who are looking to elevate what this partnership can deliver.

If your organization is ready to move from commitment to execution, we would welcome the conversation. Contact LVL-Up Strategies to learn more about how we support employer partners in building the systems, practices, and tools needed to turn hiring pledges into durable careers.

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