New York-area veterans on the hunt for a new job can get a big leg up today as some 50 corporations, universities and other institutions gather in Midtown to bid for their talents.

The RecruitMilitary Opportunity Expo, put on by a recruiting firm in cooperation with veterans’ groups like the American Legion, runs from 11 am to 3 pm at the New Yorker Hotel on Eighth Avenue.

Obviously, the recent economic downturn has affected even some of the nation’s most qualified and deserving job applicants, so kudos to all involved.

The expo is open to all veterans, reservists and their families — though one expects that returning Iraq and Afghanistan GIs will especially appreciate the help readjusting to civilian life.

Not that the companies doing the recruiting won’t benefit, too: Many of the vets they’ll be wooing have demonstrated leadership skills in ways that civilian job-seekers can only imagine.

Still, it’s a fitting salute to those who’ve given their country so much.