On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, OFCCP updated the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark to 5.6 percent, slightly down from 5.7 percent in 2020.
This hiring benchmark indicates the percentage of total protected veterans that contractors aim to hire in the next AAP year. As part of the annual affirmative action plan (AAP), contractors are required to establish the annual hiring benchmark for each establishment.
Contractors have two options for establishing a hiring benchmark: 1) develop an individualized hiring benchmark, or 2) utilize the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force—the latter being a more typical choice. For contractors who do choose to calculate their own benchmark using a five-factor method, information has also been updated on the VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Database.
The 5.6 percent benchmark went into effect Wednesday, March 31, 2021, and indicates a continuation of the downward trend in benchmark percentages over the past eight years (see Figure 1). The data used to calculate the annual national percentage of veterans as a benchmark can be found here.
Figure 1
|
Year |
VEVRAA Benchmark (%) |
Effective Dates |
|
2021 |
5.6 |
3/31/2021 – |
|
2020 |
5.7 |
3/31/2020 – 3/30/2021 |
|
2019 |
5.9 |
3/31/2019 – 3/30/2020 |
|
2018 |
6.4 |
3/31/2018 – 3/30/2019 |
|
2017 |
6.7 |
3/31/2017 – 3/30/2018 |
|
2016 |
6.9 |
3/31/2016 – 3/30/2017 |
|
2015 |
7 |
3/31/2015 – 3/30/2016 |
|
2014 |
7.2 |
3/31/2014 – 3/30/2015 |
By Emily Kimble, HR Analyst
