100,000 Jobs Mission: 18,249 Veterans hired through second quarter 2012

The 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of 55 companies committed to hiring at least 100,000 veterans by 2020, collectively hired 18,249 veterans through June 30, 2012. This number is up from 12,179 veterans hired through the end of March of this year.

The following companies joined the coalition in the second quarter of 2012: Johnson Controls, Inc., TAMKO Building Products, Inc., Bloomberg L.P., SolarCity, AstraZeneca Global, Alorica, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, CA Technologies, CGI, Textron Inc., Nielsen, JetBlue, UPMC, Combined Insurance of America and Macy's.

"We are very happy at the progress this coalition has made so far," said Frank Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer and Mortgage Banking CEO at JPMorgan Chase & Co., a founding member of the 100,000 Jobs Mission. "But we remain focused on our goal. The number of unemployed veterans continues to be high, and more businesses need to recognize the tremendous talent, intellect and skill our servicemen and women can bring to their organizations."

The announcement comes as the 100,000 Jobs Mission hosts a hiring event for transitioning military members, veterans and military spouses in Chicago today. The hiring event brings more than 80 top employers looking to fill more than 1,500 open roles within their organizations and has drawn more than 1,000 registered candidates. The hiring event also demonstrates the growing collaborative effort between the public and private sectors, bringing the coalition together with Joining Forces, the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, the American Legion, Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Student Veterans of America (SVA), U.S. Department of Labor – VETS, U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The 100,000 Jobs Mission was launched in March 2011 by 11 companies and since has grown to 55 companies. 100,000 Jobs Mission members are committed to hiring veterans, reporting results and sharing best practices on recruiting, hiring, training, assimilating and retaining veterans. The 100,000 Jobs Mission is focused on expanding the coalition with other companies committed to providing employment opportunities for transitioning military members and veterans.

Members of the 100,000 Jobs Mission

7-Eleven; ACADEMI; alelo; AlliedBarton Security Services; Alorica; Anheuser-Busch; AstraZeneca Global; AT&T; Avis Budget Group; Bloomberg LP; The Brink's Company; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.; CA Technologies; Caterpillar; Century 21 Real Estate LLC; CGI; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; CHK; Cigna; Cintas Corporation; Cisco Systems Inc.; Coca-Cola; Combined Insurance of America; Comcast; Con Edison; Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC); CSX;

Cushman & Wakefield Inc.; Deloitte; Delta Air Lines; The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation; DIRECTV; EMC Corporation; Enterprise Holdings; Ernst & Young LLP; Exelon; Expert Global Solutions; Fidelis; First Data; Frontier Communications; General Motors Co.; They Hershey Company; HP; IBM; Intel; Iron Mountain Incorporated; jcpenney; JetBlue; Johnson & Johnson; Johnson Controls, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Kaiser Permanente; The Kroger Company; Lockheed Martin; Macy's;

ManTech International Corporation; Merck; MetLife. Inc.; Modis; NCR Corporation; Nielsen; Office Depot, Inc.; Orbis, Inc.; OSRAM SYLVANIA; Pitney Bowes; Ports America; Schneider National; Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.; Shell Oil Company; Solar City; SourceHOV; Swift Transportation; T&M Protection Resources, LLC; TAMKO Building Products, Inc.; Target; Textron, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific; TIAA-CREF; Time Warner; Toys "R" Us, Inc.; TSYS; Tyco International; U.S. Security Associates, Inc.; UnitedHealth Group; Universal Health Services, Inc.; Universal Protection Service; Unum; UPMC; Verizon Communications Inc.; Waste Management, Inc.; WellPoint, Inc.; and Wells Fargo & Co.