Everyone loves a list of statistics, right? We decided to put together a few background check stats for your reading pleasure. You’ve heard this before, but we’ll say it again. The incentive of background checks is to protect the safety and security of your company’s workers. Here are some statistics that detail trends in the field. Please note these statistics are from the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA).
General Stats
- 95% of employers conduct employment background screening;
- These background checks generally include seven years of criminal and judicial records but can go back further depending on compliance laws and searches;
- One in three Americans, around 70-100 million, have criminal records;
- More than half of American residents, or 42.6 million, admit to having lied on their resume at least once;
- Those working in manufacturing are most likely to lie (72%), followed by healthcare (62%), and arts and creative positions (63%);
- Three in ten, or 30%, weren’t caught by their lies;
- Of the discrepancies detected via background checks, 87% were within employment and academic verifications.
Current Trends
- 46% of reference and credential verifications indicated a discrepancy between the information given by applicants and what the screening revealed;
- More than a third of driving record checks revealed one or more violations or convictions;
- Approximately 6% of criminal history background checks found a criminal record in the previous seven years;
- Illinois, Kentucky, and Texas are the top three most diligent states with criminal background checks;
- Nearly 21 million Americans have at least one addiction related to marijuana, alcohol or cocaine;
- Workers with substance use disorders miss two more weeks of work annually than their peers.
Theft Stats
- 75% of employees have stolen from their company at least once;
- Before stealing from their workplace, 40% of employees had experienced HR red flags;
- 68% of companies say they experienced an increased risk of employee fraud after COVID-19;
- Each year, employee theft costs American businesses almost $50 billion.
Theft Demographics
- Men conduct 72% of all occupational fraud;
- Managers committed 39% of occupational fraud cases, staff members 37%, executives/owners 23%, and others 2%;
- Employee theft incidents cost retailers three times more than shoplifting incidents;
- The top five industries for workplace theft are banking and financial services (median loss of $100,000), government and public administration (median loss of $150,000), manufacturing (median loss of $177,000), healthcare (median loss of $100,000), and energy (median loss of $100,000).
Conclusion
A lot of data there! But it details the need for dependable and consistent information when conducting background checks on your job candidates. A bad hiring decision can be costly in so many ways. As we like to say at GroupOne Background Screening, it is always better to be safe than sorry.