The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) updated the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) Benchmark Database on its website, based on 2014 end-of-year data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Now, the Annual National Benchmark is 7 percent - a slight drop from the previous 7.2 percent benchmark. National and state information has also been updated in the VEVRAA Benchmark Database for federal contractors and subcontractors who calculate an individualized hiring benchmark using the five-factor method.

Effective March 24, 2014, contractors required by VEVRAA to develop a written affirmative action program (AAP) must also establish a hiring benchmark for protected veterans each year or adopt the national benchmark provided by OFCCP. Under either approach, contractors must compare the percentage of employees who are protected veterans in each of their establishments to the hiring benchmark set for that establishment. Contractors should use the result of this comparison when assessing the effectiveness of their veteran outreach and recruitment efforts. This VEVRAA Benchmark Database provides additional information regarding the establishment of hiring benchmarks and easy access to the national and State data that may be needed to establish these benchmarks.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)