Over the last few months we’ve been closely monitoring a growing trend in US job ads: employers requiring candidates to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
There are a number of reasons why mandating vaccination is becoming more popular. The Federal Reserve has warned as many as 9 million Americans may be holding back from returning to work due to concerns around the Delta variant. Requiring vaccination is one way to reassure these potential jobseekers. US employers are also being vocal about Covid-19 policies to try and attract new staff amid the talent shortage.
But how many jobs are actually asking candidates to be vaccinated? We delved into the data, analyzing over 43 million job ads advertised on Adzuna.com between January and August 2021.
Sharp rise in job ads requiring a Covid-19 vaccination
Over 50,700 US job ads explicitly required jobseekers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in August ‘21. According to our data, this is up from 35,000 in July, and just 2,300 in January.
Proportionally, 0.72% of US job ads required jobseekers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in August ‘21. This is up from 0.52% in July, and just 0.05% in January. Have a look at the graph below to see a visual of this trend.
Top industries requiring vaccination
Our research shows, job categories that most commonly mentioned candidates needing a jab were in Healthcare & Nursing, Hospitality & Catering, IT, Social work, and Admin roles.
Of note, August saw a huge surge in tech companies requiring mandatory vaccinations. The number of IT jobs requiring jabs increased from just a handful of job ads, to thousands!
Bonuses on offer for vaccinated workers
Other employers are taking a more flexible stance and rewarding employers who get vaccinated with a bonus, rather than requiring it.
A growing number are offering Covid-19 vaccination incentives. In August, 27,700 job ads mentioned a bonus on offer to employees who get a vaccine, up from 10,900 in July.
Going against the grain: employers not requiring vaccination
We’ve also seen the start of employers saying they don’t require new employees to have a Covid-19 vaccination as a means to compete for talent. In August, 155 job ads explicitly publicized not requiring a Covid-19 vaccination.
Overall, US employers are taking different approaches to Covid-19 and the Delta variant. This includes mandating vaccination, offering vaccine bonuses, or publicizing that they don’t require workers to be vaccinated at all. With President Biden recently announcing workers at large companies will need to be vaccinated or face weekly testing, this is a trend we don’t foresee slowing down any time soon. Stay posted for further updates!
? Read more: The Best Time of Year to Look and Apply for Jobs in the US
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