Fairchild AFB  Military and Family Support Center

The minimum wage in Washington state is $13.50 per hour. The minimum wage for youths younger than age 16 may be 85% of the adult minimum wage. The unemployment rate for Spokane is about 6.9% in January 2021.

Local Economic Climate

The Spokane area serves as the business, transportation, medical, industrial and cultural hub of the Inland Northwest, a 36-county region encompassing Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, Western Montana, Northeastern Oregon and parts of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Visit Military OneSource to find out about resources and to obtain an assistance flyer.

Good prospects: The services sector (cashiers, food service, gaming, retail sales and government) is the largest sector of employment in the Spokane area. Many jobs in the services sector require unskilled workers, and pay is commensurate with experience required.

Fair prospects: Spokane is a regional health care provider for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, so there are often openings for nurses, lab technicians and other jobs in the medical field.

Poor prospects: There are very few industrial plants in the immediate area.

The state’s official site for online employment services is Washington WorkSource. It maintains a job bank and has links to all employment and labor market information. Inbound job seekers are encouraged to register prior to arrival. This website also provides contact information and addresses for local offices. Fairchild Airman and Family Resource Center offers WorkSource employment services, which are located in its Discovery Resource Center.

Contact A&FRC staff for further information, employment counseling or a resume review. The A&FRC also has the DRC available for use. In it are computers with Internet access, printers, copier, a fax machine and numerous resource materials, including job vacancy announcements.

Opportunities on base are civil service (see the Office of Personnel Management or USAJOBS), the Services Squadron Human Resource Office, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and positions with various contractors.

Employment Opportunities

The minimum wage in Washington state is $13.50 per hour. The minimum wage for youths under age 16 may be 85% of the adult minimum wage. The unemployment rate for Spokane is approximately 5.7%, per a 2019 assessment.

Local Economic Climate

The Spokane area serves as the business, transportation, medical, industrial and culture hub of the Inland Northwest. It’s a 36-county region encompassing Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, Western Montana, Northeastern Oregon and parts of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.

Good prospects: The services sector (cashiers, food service, gaming, retail sales and government) is the largest sector of employment in the Spokane area. Many jobs in the services sector require unskilled workers and pay is commensurate with experience required.

Fair prospects: Spokane is a regional health-care provider for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho; therefore, there are often openings for nurses, lab technicians and other jobs in the medical field.

Poor prospects: There are very few industrial plants in the immediate area.

In Washington, WorkSource is the state's official site for online employment services. It maintains a job bank and has links to all employment and labor market information. Inbound job seekers are encouraged to register prior to arrival. This website also provides contact information and addresses for local offices. The Fairchild Airman and Family Readiness Center offers WorkSource employment services in their Discovery Resource Center.

Contact A&FRC staff for further information, employment counseling or resume review. The A&FRC also has a DRC available for use. In it are computers with internet access, printers, a copier, a fax machine and numerous resource materials, including job vacancy announcements.

Opportunities on base are civil service (see Office of Personnel Management, USAJOBS or the Civilian Personnel Office), Force Support Squadron Human Resource Office, Defense Commissary Agency, Army and Air Force Exchange Service and positions with various contractors.

Fairchild Air Force Base, Civilian Personnel Office: http://www.fairchildfun.com/civilian-personnel

Transition Assistance Program:

The Transition Assistance Program is a comprehensive, mandatory program provided through the efforts of an interagency team from the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management and the Small Business Administration.

TAP (formally known as Transition Goals, Plans, Success) is a cohesive, modular, outcome-based program that aids in the successful transition into a career-ready civilian. TAP standardizes the transition services that service members receive prior to separating from the military to make them employment ready, as well as being prepared to enter into higher education, attend vocational training, prepare for employment or start their own business.

In addition to the mandatory components, there are optional components and tracks.

Mandatory Components:

Initial counseling is mandatory for all service members leaving the military. It must be taken 365 days prior to separation or retirement. It is recommended 18 months prior to separation or 24 months prior to retirement. Spouse attendance is encouraged.

Pre-separation counseling is mandatory for all service members leaving the military. It must be taken 365 days prior to separation or retirement. It is recommended 18 months prior to separation or 24 months prior to retirement. Spouse attendance is encouraged.

The TAP five-day workshop is delivered by the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the VA, the DOD and the DOL. It is mandatory for all, with some exemptions for DOL. Spouse attendance is encouraged (pending space availability).

Capstone is by individual appointment and is designed to validate and verify that each service member has completed all required Career Readiness Standards. The member should schedule this 90-150 days prior to separation or retirement. A&FRC staff, service members and their commander/designee will sign a DD Form 2648.

Optional components, two-day tracks:

• Higher education track – delivered by the ED – helps individuals make an informed decision about attending an institute of higher learning. It covers items such as understanding the realities of college life, how to obtain credit for military training and experience, researching schools and completing a college admissions package. It also provides an understanding of financial assistance, to include the G.I. Bill and the risks associated with incurring debt while in school.
• Vocational training track – delivered by the DOL – assists transitioning members in defining technical career goals, identifying required credentials, finding career technical training opportunities, identifying local veteran resources, and utilizing their VA education benefits.
• Entrepreneur track (Boots to Business) – delivered by the SBA -- provides information on how to develop a business plan, marketing, promoting and funding of a small business. This track may be taken at any point in the military life cycle. This track is for members and their spouses who are interested in starting their own business. Educational opportunities are abundant on and off-base. The Spokane/Fairchild area offers two community colleges and several universities, as well as career technical training programs. The base education center provides full education counseling, including tuition assistance information, for service members and family members. Call 509-247-2348.
• Employment Workshop – delivered by the DOL – provides information and resources on how to write a targeted profession resume, gain interview skills and navigate social media and the job market.

Tuition assistance:

For information about tuition assistance for spouses, see the College and Technical Training article for additional funding resources.

MyCAA:

For information on the My Career Advancement Account and military spouse education and career opportunities, visit the Military OneSource website.

Tuition Assistance for Spouses - See College & Technical Training article for additional funding resources.

MyCAA

For information on MyCAA and Military Spouse Education and Career Opportunities, visit Military OneSource.

The unemployment rate in Washington state is about 5.6% (February 2021). The unemployment rate for Spokane is about 6.9% (January 2021). The Fairchild Airman and Family Readiness Center offers a variety of workshops to assist service and family members in their local area job search.

Unemployment compensation may be paid to a spouse who left work to relocate for the other spouse's employment that is due to an employer-initiated mandatory transfer if the claimant remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move. For more information contact the Washington Employment Security Department at 800-318-6022.

WorkSource Washington is the state's official site for online employment services. The A&FRC also houses a WorkSource employee every day of the week except Thursday.

There are now 46 states as well as the District of Columbia that provide unemployment insurance for military spouses who leave their jobs specifically to follow their service members on a new assignment.

Only Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio consider leaving a job for this reason to be “voluntary,” and therefore not a good reason for leaving a job under any waiver.

Ohio worked on legislation last year to include military spouse relocation due to a permanent change of station to be eligible for compensation. However it stalled in the Statehouse in November with some opposing the bill saying they are already borrowing money from the government and without asking for further funds, this would create a heavier tax on businesses.

When filing for unemployment, make sure you apply in the state in which you worked, not the state or country that you have moved to. If you worked in any of those four states that do not offer unemployment for military spouses, then you do not qualify unless there are other circumstances you can claim exemption with. If you are unsure whether you qualify or not, go ahead and apply anyway. You can always file an appeal if you are denied the first time.

Some states have a specific clause under qualifications for unemployment to account for military spouses relocating out of state while others simply have a blanket statement for any spouse that moves a specific distance from their current job to follow a spouse to their new job assignment. The latter is known as a trailing spouse and applies to any spouse, military or not. Both of these are considered a voluntary quit with good cause.

Many states do not spell out whether moving overseas qualifies or disqualifies a military spouse from receiving unemployment benefits. Each state has its own laws regarding unemployment. There are a few states that have laws that specifically exclude moves overseas however. If you can make a case that you will be able to apply for jobs in the U.S. while overseas, then you may be approved for unemployment benefits after all.

The unemployment rate for Washington State is about 5.6% (2021). The unemployment rate for Spokane is about 6.9% (2021). The Fairchild Airman and Family Readiness Center offers a variety of workshops to assist service and family members in their local area job search.

Unemployment compensation may be paid to a spouse who left work to relocate for the other spouse's employment due to an employer-initiated mandatory transfer, so long as the claimant remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move. For more information, contact the Washington Employment Security Department at 800-318-6022.

Visit Washington’s WorkSource website, the state’s official site for online employment services, and visit the WorkSource Spokane website for local employment information. You may also consult with a WorkSource employee at the Fairchild A&FRC.