Does Unemployment Show Up on a Background Check?

All information held by unemployment offices is private and confidential, meaning that whatever a person’s status is or has been and what benefits they might have received cannot be disclosed to third parties. 

However, if an employee conducts an in-depth background check with employment verification, it will almost certainly show gaps in job history that might cause an employer to ask some questions. 

Employers are often keen to examine a candidate’s employment timeline to gauge their level of experience and expertise and assess how quickly they move from job to job. Generally, steady employment over several years is preferable to somebody who changes jobs every six months, but that’s up to the employer to assess. 

If there are holes in the employment history and the applicant makes no attempt to explain it on their resume, an employer will likely inquire, especially if the application is for mid- to high-level positions. Employers like to see a nice, smooth work history, preferably one that shows development over time, and unexplained gaps—however innocent they might be—are usually enough for employers to want to find out why. 

While a hard or comprehensive background check examines everything in depth, a soft check is more surface-level. It can still uncover important information that can either make or break job prospects, but it will only examine things like financials if explicitly requested. 

Hard checks are typically required for high-level positions or those where financial trust needs to be assured. They might also be carried out for specific industries that require them, such as healthcare and education. Soft checks, on the other hand, are more lightweight and might be more appropriate for a lower-level position. 

Unemployment isn’t necessarily the red flag of doom that many people assume it to be. While unemployment bias still remains, it’s significantly less than in the past. Sometimes, people take a little time to redirect their careers, care for a loved one, or simply take a little break after a particularly stressful working period. 

The key is to be honest, open, and upfront about any gaps in employment history. If the gap can be clearly explained, and shown it wasn’t simply laziness, the interviewer may even react positively.

There’s no magic number here, and it usually depends on why the employment gap exists. If someone took two years out to care for a dying relative, it’s hard to imagine many employers seeing that as a negative. However, if they took two years to get back into work after a particularly stressful work period, that might raise some questions. 

The current unemployment rate in the U.S. is 4.1% – although many believe that figure to be much higher because of how unemployment is assessed. The reality is that millions are unemployed for countless reasons, but that shouldn’t be seen as an immediate negative.

It all boils down to context. What was the reasoning behind the employment gap, and how can it be explained clearly and convincingly to a potential employer? Candidates should be upfront about gaps in employment on resumes. 

A person doesn’t necessarily have to list “unemployed,” but can include details about freelance work, volunteer activities, or even personal projects worked on during that time. Showing that they used your downtime productively can help shift the conversation in the candidate’s favor.