WASHINGTON, D.C. – Service-disabled veterans are self-employed at a rate significantly lower than the veteran population as a whole, according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The study indicates that the discrepancy is about 25 to 50 percent.

“This report provides policymakers with information that will better our understanding of veterans’ entrepreneurship,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy.

Written by Open Blue Solutions with funding from the Office of Advocacy, Self-Employment in the Veteran and Service-Disabled Veteran Population, attributes most of the lower self-employment rate of service-disabled veterans to disabilities that hinder their ability to work.

The study’s authors used data covering the years 1985 to 2005, derived from three sections of the Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These datasets allowed them to track the employment of service-disabled veterans over time.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.