First Advantage Report Shows Employment Applicant Discrepancies in the U.S. and Asia Pacific Continue to Rise

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- First Advantage Corporation, a global risk mitigation and business solutions provider, today announced the release of its most recent Global Screening Benchmark Report. The report provides employers with an overview of the employment screening results for Q1-Q2 2010 and Q1-Q2 2011 for many of the world's leading employers and provides them a unique tool for evaluating their employment screening programs.

"With the latest economic trends pointing to a slow-down in global hiring and recent U.S. legislation limiting certain types of employment screening tools, employers of all sizes are challenged with staying in compliance with ever-changing regulations, while also getting the most qualified applicants in the door," said Andy Macdonald, President & Chief Executive Officer of First Advantage.  "To successfully navigate such a dynamic environment, employers are actively seeking the best practices for hiring and screening that will help them ensure they are making the best decisions for keeping their workforces engaged, productive and safe." 

Key findings of the report include:

• Applicant discrepancy rates in the United States are up in most screening categories, with Federal Criminal searches showing the highest percentage gain.
• County Criminal search hit rates in the United States, the most utilized criminal screening tool, are up slightly in 2011 to 6.46% from 6.38% in 2010.
• Substance abuse testing results have shown a decline in positivity rate to 2.56% for 2011, down from 2.61% in 2010.
• Fingerprinting checks for pre-employment purposes show a 1.7% hit rate where the applicant was deemed unsatisfactory for employment.
• Employment verifications show the highest hit rate in Asia Pacific, where 66.4% of all discrepancies in the region are related to exaggerated or falsified past employment information.

The report is based on a subset of checks conducted by First Advantage on behalf of its clients.  It includes results from more than three million U.S. background checks, over 135,000 substance abuse tests and one million background checks in Asia Pacific, covering the periods Q1-Q2 2010 and Q1-Q2 2011. A copy of the report can be found at www.fadv.com/Resource-Center/Benchmark-Reports/Global-Screening-Trends-Report-Q1-Q2-2010-/-Q1-Q2-2011/.

About First Advantage

First Advantage combines industry expertise with information to create products and services that organizations worldwide use to make smarter business decisions. First Advantage is a leading provider of talent acquisition solutions including employment background screening, occupational health services, applicant tracking systems, recruiting solutions, skills and behavioral assessments, employment tax consulting services and e-discovery. First Advantage is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fl., and has offices throughout the United States and abroad. More information about First Advantage can be found at www.FADV.com.

Media Contact:
Paige Vesuvio
Vice President, Marketing
727.290.1000 X2274
[email protected]

SOURCE First Advantage Corporation