Must-Know Background Check Statistics for 2024
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Background checks are important not only for organizations but also for individuals. These checks can help prevent violence and other dangers to the organization, community, or individuals.
Using background checks and people search sites, you can see a person’s history of criminal records and personal information. You can even uncover their OnlyFans account (if they have one!).
If you’re an individual trying to run a background check on your potential partner is essential. Thankfully, there are a few options for you to run a background check yourself.
With this in mind, we have compiled a list of important background check statistics. Keep reading to learn more!
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- 1 in 5 singles conduct background checks on their dates.
- 68% of renters pay application fees which landlords use to pay for tenant screening reports.
- 1 in 3 Americans admit to having lied in the job hiring process, and 3 in 4 have gotten a job through it.
- 94% of employers say their organization performs background checks on job candidates
- Employers are screening individuals more often in 2020 (90%) compared to the previous year (86%)
- 85% of employers say it is important to have access to international screening capabilities
- In 2021, 9% of employers worldwide excluded drug tests from job background screenings
- Businesses lose 5% of their annual revenue to employee fraud
- In 2021, the average loss per employee theft incident was 3x higher than that of shoplifting incidents
Important Background Check Statistics In 2023
Background checks are important. Landlords, for example, do it to evaluate a tenant’s capacity to take care of their home even though they don’t own it. Firearm dealers background checks a person prior to a sale, employers check before hiring, and daters stalk before meeting.
Here are must-read background check statistics to learn from.
1. The FBI registered 38.87 million background checks in 2021, including gun background checks
(Statista)
Firearm dealers or Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to determine if a person who wants to buy firearms or explosives is eligible.
According to Statista, the FBI registered 38.87 million background checks in 2021, a slight decrease from the previous year, which is 39.69 million.
2. The 5.40 billion USD global background check market in 2021 will reach 10.92 billion USD in 2029
Background check software helps people verify that an individual is who they claim to be. According to Maximize Market Research, the market size for global background checks will grow from 5.40 billion USD in 2021 to 10.92 billion USD by 2029. This is at a CAGR or compound annual growth rate of 9.2% during the forecast period.
3.1 in 5 singles background checks their dates
(Thriving Center of Psychology)
In a December 2022 survey by the Thriving Center of Psychology, almost 20% of 1,000 singles do a background check on their dates. More than 1 in 3 respondents say they stalk their dates online and 29% said they spent more than 20 minutes doing so.
4. 68% of renters pay application fees which landlords use to pay for tenant screening reports
(Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
In 2021, a handful of cities and states in the U.S. passed certain reports to limit what information the tenant background screening reports can contain.
Corporate landlords may rely more substantially on background screening reports while smaller independent landlords have greater discretions in doing so. The use of tenant screening reports may increase as the share of rental units by large corporate owners increase.
Background Check Statistics Every Company Should Know
One popular and obvious reason for doing background checks is that people lie and exaggerate their resumes. Whether it’s a person or remote work, background checks are a crucial part of the job hiring process.
Below are statistics to give you an idea of what happens with employee background checks.
5. 1 in 3 Americans admit to having lied in the job hiring process, and 3 in 4 have gotten a job through it
In a survey of 1,250 Americans by Resume Builder, 35% said they lied in the hiring process. 57% say they have not lied, and 8% say they have never applied for a job.
More than two-thirds of respondents say they’ve lied during an interview. 30% lied about their race/ethnicity, 27% about their veteran status, and 23% about their disability status.
6. 1 in 3 Americans admit they lied on their resume
People love to stretch the truth on their resumes and paint their lives in the best light possible.
In the same survey from Resume Builder, 80% who lied were hired, but nearly half lost the job offer after being caught. 4 in 10 people said they lied on their resume after leaving their previous job on bad terms.
7. 94% of employers say their organization performs background checks on job candidates
(Professional Background Screening Association)
A new survey from the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) found that background screening among organizations is prevalent. 73% say they have a set policy for background screening procedures.
The top reasons for conducting background checks among job candidates are to protect the safety of employees and customers (83%), improve the quality of hires (51%), and, as mandated by law/regulations (40%).
8. Employers are screening individuals more often in 2020 (90%) compared to the previous year (86%)
(Professional Background Screening Association)
According to the Professional Background Screening Association, 90% of employers reveal they screen full-time employees, an increase of 4 percentage points from 2019. The rise in the numbers may mean employers realize the importance and accessibility of background screening.
9. In 2020, 66% of most employers waited until after a job offer to conduct a background check
(Professional Background Screening Association)
As per the PBSA survey, 49% of employers say they do background checks only during the hiring process. Background checks commonly happen after a conditional job offer.
12% conduct background checks annually or more frequently compared to 9% in the previous year. Organizations also perform background checks at any point other than the initial hiring or onboarding process.
10. 85% of employers say it is important to have access to international screening capabilities
(Professional Background Screening Association)
In 2020, 57% of employers believed international screening is directly important to their organization, and 24% revealed their organization performs criminal background checks for candidates within and outside the U.S.
The survey shows job candidates are 70% from the U.S., 24 % are both within and outside the U.S., 4% are from outside the U.S., and 3% of employers say they do not know.
Drug-related Background Check Statistics
Did you know that one in every eleven workers in the US, or 9% of the workforce, struggled with a substance or alcohol use disorder?
Employers make drug screenings a requirement to determine if a candidate is fit for a role. Landlords and individuals should also be on the lookout for any drug-related history when they run their own background checks on a person.
Here are drug-related background check statistics you should know.
11. Drug tests for employee background check purposes dropped more than 61% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a February 2020 survey from the Current Consulting Group (CCG), 21% of employers reported more than a 61% drop in the number of drug tests they perform on employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was an uptick in the number of employers concerned over the decrease in the quality of new hires/employees in the workplace due to marijuana legalization (from 54% in 2019 to 39% in 2020). Also, 32% are concerned about safety in the workplace because of prescription drug use.
12. In 2021, 9% of employers worldwide excluded drug tests from job background screenings
In the middle of a global labor shortage, staffing firm ManpowerGroup surveyed nearly 45,000 employers in 43 countries. Survey results indicated that 9 percent of more than 45,000 employers worldwide are eliminating drug tests in background screenings for job applicants to “attract and retain in-demand talent.”
The same survey also found 20% of employers said they have lowered job skills and background experience requirements.
Sixty-nine percent of employers report difficulty filling roles. It’s why employers are offering the following incentives:
- Offer training, skills development, or mentoring (41%)
- Offer more flexible work schedules (39%)
- Increased wages (31%)
- Offer more flexible working locations (28)
- Offer incentives (23%)
- Offer more non-financial benefits (20%)
- Lower job skills or experience requirements (20%)
- Eliminate job screening or drug tests (9%)
13. Approximately 20% of dating app users in San Antonio, Texas talk about drugs or alcohol in their profile.
In a study conducted by American Addiction Centers, roughly 20% of individuals utilizing dating apps in San Antonio included drugs or alcoholic beverages in their profile descriptions. Austin came in a close second, with approximately 19.3% of profiles containing references to drugs or alcohol.
Employee Theft Background Check Statistics
No matter how big or small, employee theft is a concerning topic for employers. It is a serious problem that comes in many forms and at varying degrees, which often goes unnoticed. Investing in prevention, like improving your background screening and actively participating in the business, could prevent employee theft.
To find out more about employee theft in the U.S., we’ve gathered some of the most interesting statistics.
14. Businesses lost 5% of their annual revenue to employee fraud.
(Forbes)
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as reported by Forbes, up to 30% of business failures may come from employee fraud and abuse. Employee fraud schemes include check tampering, payroll schemes, billing schemes, and expense padding.
15. There was an increase in employee theft (71.4%) post-pandemic
Retail shrink cost businesses 94.5 billion USD in losses in 2021. There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic created a significant impact on businesses.
In 2022, retailers specifically reported an increase in employee theft and ORC or Organized Retail Crime (tied at 71.4%) due to the pandemic. There is also an increase in violence (89.3%) and shoplifting (73.2%).
16. In 2021, the average loss per employee theft incident was 3x higher than that of shoplifting incidents
According to the National Retail Security Survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, the average loss per employee theft incident (1,551.66 USD) was three times higher than the average loss per shoplifting incident (461.86 USD).
Conclusion
These statistics suggest that background checks help landlords, sellers, employers, and daters make informed decisions. Many daters find themselves stalking their potential partners before meeting them.
While some companies may have relaxed their drug testing policies, it’s still an option. For landlords, even though there is no publicly available evidence that suggests tenant background checks/screening reports are predictive of future rental behavior, a majority of landlords still do it.
Understanding these statistics can help individuals and organizations alike to avoid problems in the future.
