Job Postings With COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements Sharply Rose in August: Firm

A "Help Wanted" sign is posted beside coronavirus safety guidelines in front of a restaurant in Los Angeles on May 28, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Data released by a hiring firm suggest that job postings with COVID-19 vaccine requirements sharply increased in August, although the overall number of job postings requiring the vaccine is relatively low.

In the seven days ending Aug. 30, the number of postings on the Indeed hiring website that had COVID-19 vaccine requirements saw a 119 percent increase over the same seven-day period at the end of July, the site’s data show. Job postings that mentioned a general vaccination requirement rose by 242 percent over the same time period.

“Both of these postings series represented less than 1 percent of all jobs ads on Indeed,” Indeed stated, adding that “postings with vaccination requirements rose across sectors and jumped to nearly 2 percent of Indeed job ads in personal care and home health.”

Nearly 2 percent of personal care and home health job postings had vaccine requirements as of Aug. 30, it stated. “It’s a substantial jump from the previous month, when the share was less than 0.5 percent.”

Some employers are asking potential hires to verify their vaccination by uploading their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine cards online, and some are offering bonuses for getting the shot.

A giant digital sign at Facebook's corporate headquarters campus in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2019. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Indeed further noted that other postings have recommended—but aren’t requiring—the vaccines. “On the flip side,” it stated, “a small fraction of postings advertise that vaccination is not mandatory.”

“In the weeks ahead, it will be important to watch whether job postings encouraging vaccination lose ground to those requiring shots,” according to the firm. “Employers advertising no vaccination are probably betting their stance will give them a leg up in finding workers.”

The findings come as the federal government and health agencies have increasingly applied pressure on private entities and colleges to mandate vaccines for their employees.

President Joe Biden several weeks ago said that all federal employees and contractors have to either get a COVID-19 vaccine or be subject to stringent testing and social distancing. It was reported on Sept. 9 that Biden is now moving to mandate vaccines for all federal workers and contractors with no ability to opt out.

Some major firms, including Google and Facebook in July, issued a vaccine mandate on employees returning to the office. Others that have vaccine requirements include Bank of America, BlackRock, Capital One, Tyson Foods, and United Airlines.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.