Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs

Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs: Although millions of Americans are penetrating for work, Mike Rowe has the conflicting problem: As the host of the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, he starts a new job every week. Over the show's six seasons, Rowe has taken on hundreds of rough trades ranging from ostrich farmer to steelworker to mosquito breeder. In his spare time, however, Rowe has begin working on one of his toughest challenges yet -- finding good work for America's veterans.

"The unemployment rate for recurring servicemen is over 18%," Rowe points out. "It's a scandal, and few people write and talk about it." By comparison, the general unemployment rate is currently 9.6%, or roughly half of the veterans' rate.

Rowe's numbers are worrying, but recent research suggest that, among some segment of the veteran population, the being without a job crisis may be even direr. For example, for veterans aged 18 to 24, the jobless rate tops 21%, while 16.6% of nonveteran 18- to 24-year-olds is out of work. And the long downturn has made the problem worse: In 2008, for example, 14.4% of 18- to 24-year-old veterans were unemployed.