ATLANTA, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Advantage, the global leader in background check and drug screening solutions, today released the first part of its 2020 Trends Report. The eagerly awaited research helps HR, legal and finance professionals mitigate risk by benchmarking screening practices. The research draws its conclusions from customer surveys cross-referenced with aggregate data from First Advantage’s 71 million annual global searches in 2019.

The report reveals trends across First Advantage’s areas of expertise, including criminal checks, education and employment verifications and drug screening. For example, background screening, on the whole, is up in every region throughout the globe, but the U.S. and India saw the largest growth by volume. Screening volume growth is especially high in the transportation vertical (27 percent), followed by retail (24 percent) and healthcare (15 percent). Other factors – such as seasonality – impact volume, as well as an increased number of searches per candidates (18 percent).

Social screening is also on the rise. In 2019, 4 percent of survey respondents said they had enabled it, and an additional 2 percent said they plan to enable it in 2020. Customers are also responding to changing trends in drug screening. While lab-based urine tests are still the most common testing method by a significant margin, the use of saliva-based tests is on the rise.

First Advantage Senior Vice President, Operations Tom Ellis said, “Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to know who’s in your workforce and limit the risk to your business. First Advantage serves more than 50 percent of the Fortune 100 and close to half of the Global 500. Partnering with us means faster turnaround, more comprehensive searches and the insights only the global leader in the industry can provide.”

Top trends from this year’s report will be shared at a webinar planned for June 25, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET. The webinar, “Top 10 Background Screening Trends: Tales from the Trenches,” will be hosted by members of the First Advantage Six Sigma Black Belt team who developed the report and will incorporate content from the State of the Industry, U.S. Product Insights and Global Insights sections of the report. Those interested in attending the webinar can register at https://bit.ly/2020fadvtrends.

To download a complimentary copy of the First Advantage Trends Report, please visit http://learn.fadv.com/2020trends.

About First Advantage
First Advantage provides comprehensive background screening, identity and information solutions that give employers and housing providers access to actionable information that results in faster, more accurate people decisions. With an advanced global technology platform and superior customer service delivered by experts who understand local markets, First Advantage helps customers around the world build fully scalable, configurable screening programs that meet their unique needs. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, First Advantage has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

To learn more, please visit fadv.com.