Jab for a job: Postings requiring vaccination 19-times higher in September

One in 900 job vacancies requires new hires to be vaccinated.

The number of job postings which require a COVID jab for new hires rose by 19 times in the month of September, a report from the job portal, Indeed, showed.

This means that one in 900 listings have a vaccine requirement. In July, only one in 17,000 listings had a vaccine mandate for new employees. 

Indeed’s APAC Economist Callam Pickering said vaccination requirement has been a hiring trend in countries across the globe.

“Singapore’s vaccination requirements are relatively low by global standards but are growing rapidly. This indicates strong support for the government’s push for higher vaccination levels amongst the populace in order to return to endemic levels,” Pickering said.

The economist added that the growing number of businesses with a vaccine mandate  also reflects the “​​general business confidence in the republic with hiring on the rise despite the drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in the past few months.”

Record-high hiring activity

Hiring activity also reached a record high in the month of September.

Indeed said Singapore job listings in its portal were up 68% from their level on 1 February 2020, after adjusting for seasonal trends.

Production had the highest jump among occupation categories with 132% higher positions from pre-COVID levels.

Available roles in installation and maintenance(+99%), transportation (+96%), and food preparation (+93%) also increased.