By ROSE L. THAYER | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 21, 2021
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more staff and wire stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. For nearly a decade, the unemployment rate for military spouses has sat stubbornly at 22% nearly four times higher than the current national average. While the challenges that often block spouses from finding long-term, meaningful employment remain constant, military family advocates believe the coronavirus pandemic may have shifted employers’ perceptions enough on remote work to open the door for real progress.