Job fair held for veterans in Fayetteville

About 67 employers gathered in Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville Friday morning for a job fair exclusively for veterans and their spouses.

More than 400 current and former military members signed up to attend the Hiring Our Heroes job fair. Employers representing a variety of industries were there, including construction, insurance, health care, teaching and sales.

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer made an appearance, encouraging veterans to make the transition into the civilian labor force. Meyer is the first living Marine in 38 years to receive the Medal of Honor.

Friday's fair was part of a national "Hiring 50,000 Heroes" campaign aimed at hiring 500,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014.

More than 14,000 military members and spouses have secured jobs through the program since the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began holding the fairs last year. Over 330 fairs have been held nationwide.

Fairs are held in Fayetteville twice per year, and another Hiring Our Heroes fair will be held in the spring. 

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is just over 10 percent, compared with 8 percent for the entire population.