Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP)

While military spouses are well educated and highly qualified for a range of careers, they face a 24 percent unemployment rate and a 25 percent wage gap compared to their civilian counterparts.

Seventy-seven percent of these spouses want or need work, yet frequent relocation is often a barrier to finding and maintaining a rewarding career. The inability of spouses to obtain and retain fulfilling employment as they relocate with the military compromises the quality of life of military families and the readiness of the military force.

The Presidential Study Directive-9 Report, Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America's Commitment, published Jan. 25, 2011, highlights the need for a unified Federal government approach to help develop career and education opportunities for military spouses. Among the target activities to accomplish this goal is increasing opportunities for military spouses to obtain private sector careers. As a result, the Department of Defense leveraged the successful partnerships created under the Army Spouse Employment Partnership by expanding the program to Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force spouses. The expanded program – the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, or MSEP – officially launched in June 2011 during a ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

MSEP is part of DoD's broader Spouse Education and Career Opportunities, or SECO, initiative, which seeks to strengthen the education and career opportunities of military spouses by providing:

MSEP, a targeted recruitment and employment solution, creates employment connections that provide companies with direct access to military spouses seeking career opportunities and spouses with direct access to employers who are actively recruiting.

MSEP currently has more than 500 partners, who have hired more than 180,000 military spouses.