Literally and figuratively.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs quietly released the new annual hiring benchmark for protected veterans. The new benchmark is 5.1 percent and applies to affirmative action plans developed on or after July 31, 2025.
The veterans hiring benchmark has dropped each year since the OFCCP initiated it in 2014, when it was 7.2 percent. The most recent hiring benchmark, covering AAPs developed between March 31, 2024, and June 29, 2025, was 5.2 percent.
Under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, contractors are required to compare the percentage of hires each year who are protected veterans with the annual hiring benchmark. This benchmark can be based on either (1) the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force, or (2) an individualized benchmark developed by the contractor that includes statistics on the availability of veterans on the state level.
The national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force is typically released by the OFCCP in March of each year, but the OFCCP did not announce the new figure until the end of July.
Contractors should implement the updated hiring benchmark in their AAPs accordingly.
