Research: Job postings with vaccine requirements nearly double since July

The number of job openings posted on the Indeed Hiring Lab that required potential applicants to be vaccinated nearly doubled between the first weeks of July and August, according to research released Thursday by the company.

In the week ending last Saturday, the number of job postings that mentioned vaccination requirements — though not coronavirus specifically — rose by 90 percent from the same period last month. Postings that explicitly mentioned COVID-19 vaccination requirements rose 34 percent in that time, including in several sectors without much, if any, face-to-face interaction.

“Employers are well aware that COVID-19, the fear of it and restrictions against it, dampen economic activity and some are not only encouraging vaccination among employees, but are now requiring it,” wrote AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist with Indeed.

Job postings that require vaccinations still make up an incredibly small percentage of overall listings. Only 1,164 out of every 1 million postings mentioned a general vaccination requirement on Aug. 7, and postings that specifically required coronavirus vaccines were just 282 out of every 1 million openings. 

Even so, the sharp increase in vaccination requirements sheds light on how a growing number of companies are tightening health restrictions amid surging COVID-19 cases. While the vast majority of fully vaccinated individuals do not experience serious symptoms if infected, surging cases of COVID-19 among the unvaccinated, including children under 12, have thrown a wrench into the reopening of the economy.

“Jobs that require vaccination are still a small fraction of postings overall. But there has been a large increase in job postings requiring vaccinations across a variety of sectors, many of which hadn’t previously mandated vaccinations among employees,” Konkel wrote. She highlighted the jump in vaccine requirements for software development jobs, which jumped from 3.5 per million in February to 437.9 this month, with similar jumps in accounting, retail and marketing.

President Biden has imposed a vaccination requirement for federal employees both to directly help close the vaccination gap and encourage private companies to do the same. Walt Disney Co. and Walmart both announced vaccine requirements the following day, and several popular entertainment and restaurant groups have followed suit.