Topline
Job postings requiring Covid-19 vaccination have skyrocketed since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot in August, according to LinkedIn data provided to Forbes, as employers ramp up the pressure on workers who are still refusing to get the jab.
Employers are increasingly requiring their workers to be vaccinated.
Key Facts
The number of LinkedIn job postings that include vaccine requirements has jumped 20 times over the last two months, a spokesperson for the platform told Forbes.
There was a particularly “dramatic increase” in postings requiring vaccination since August, the spokesperson added, suggesting “companies were waiting” for full FDA approval to institute mandates.
Though unable to provide Forbes with precise figures, LinkedIn said food production, IT services, biotechnology, marketing and advertising, and law were the industries with the largest number of postings requiring vaccination.
The regions with the largest number of postings requiring vaccination were New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Washington, D.C.
Key Background
Patience with the unvaccinated is wearing thin at many levels of government, in corporate America and among vaccinated Americans. While most vaccinated Americans blame vaccine holdouts for surging coronavirus cases and continued restrictions, few unvaccinated people feel they are responsible for the dire state of the pandemic. This chasm in understanding and behavior—polling suggests the unvaccinated are less likely to be worried about Covid-19 or follow precautions like mask wearing to stop its spread and more likely to engage in normal activities—is now infiltrating every aspect of life and one’s vaccination status is becoming increasingly important. The vaccinated are cutting out unvaccinated friends and family, who increasingly find themselves unable to travel, eat out, attend college or work. Tensions are high, with many unvaccinated angry at restrictions, exclusions and, at times, perceived discrimination and many vaccinated uncomfortable having to spend time around or accommodate the holdouts.
What To Watch For
Many businesses are still grappling with mandates. Looming deadlines in the early-adopting healthcare sector are a sign of things to come, however, and there have been fears of shortages as hospitals begin to fire staff who still refuse the shots.
What We Don’t Know
Precise figures on the number of jobs requiring vaccination are hard to come by. LinkedIn, while used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, is primarily a social network aimed for business professionals. It’s job postings reflect that demographic and purpose and is not a comprehensive view of the job market. Indeed aggregates postings from around the web and offers a different picture of this market, though both illustrate the general trend. Other sites and search engines, such as Adzuna, also show an increase in postings looking for fully vaccinated candidates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Further Reading
The rise of hiring (and firing) based on vaccination status (Axios)
These Are the U.S. Companies Requiring Covid Vaccines for Employees (Bloomberg)
Ire of the ‘Vexcluded’ Grows as Companies Crack Down on Unvaxxed (Bloomberg)
