In today’s New York Times, Catherine Rampell reports that some employers are discouraging the unemployed from applying for job openings and/or filtering out jobless applicants. Rampell’s article, “The Help-Wanted Sign Comes With a Frustrating Asterisk,” lists a number of reasons why employers may be taking this step, some of which I have listed below. 

• The unemployed may be out of work due to poor job performance.
• The unemployed may lack up-to-date skills and relationships.
• Employers need ways to narrow down a deluge of job applications.

In reading through these reasons, a number of questions came to mind:

• Are employers screening out unemployed job applicants based on facts or assumptions?
• What evidence is there that the practice of screening out unemployed job applicants is good for business? 
• Has your organization measured and compared the performance of employed versus unemployed hires? What did you find?

Share your experience and perspective.