There’s no denying the huge drop-off in military recruitment. Every service is suffering and statistics show a worrying shortfall of as much as 40% for FY 2022.
Defense officials blame the slump on two causes: teen obesity rates and the tight labor market. It’s true that in the past, recruitment has been tied to the employment situation in the country. When times are tough, young men gravitate to the military. But that doesn’t explain the shortfall of 28,000 recruits for the army. The unemployment rate today sits at 3.6%—roughly the same as in 2019. Yet in 2019, the Army exceeded its recruiting goals.
