Over Five Percent of Workers Turned Down for Jobs Due to Financial Background Checks

Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn

A survey of more than 1,100 workers conducted by the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) found 5.2 percent of respondents reported they were turned down for jobs due to their financial background while 26.3 percent reported employers ran financial background checks on them.

In the nationwide poll co-sponsored by the NFEC, HR Management Solutions, and the Financial Literacy Action Network in order to find how many people knew financial background checks may affect their ability to find employment, adults aged 35 to 54 were asked the two following questions:

• “Have you ever been turned down for a job or promotion as a result of your credit or financial background?”
• “Has an employer or potential employer ever conducted a credit or financial background check as a condition of hiring you or giving you a promotion?”

The survey revealed 61.6 percent of women aged 35 to 44 underwent financial background checks compared to 48.9 percent of women aged 45 to 54. Also, 37.6 percent of women in rural areas underwent financial background checks compared to 21.1 percent of women in the suburbs.

The National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) is a financial education resource provider conducting research to share with the financial education industry. The complete NFCE survey results are available at www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-background-check-surveys/.

As reported earlier by ESR News, a 2012 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey – “Background Checking — The Use of Credit Background Checks in Hiring Decisions” – found 47 percent of organizations conducted financial background checks on some job candidates.

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Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – a global background check firm audited yearly for SSAE 18 SOC 2® Type 2 compliance – provides fast, accurate, affordable, and compliant background checks for banking and finance industries. To learn more, visit www.esrcheck.com/Services/ESR-Financial-Check.

NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.

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