Who is renting in 2025 and why it matters. Explore renter demographics, affordability pressures, credit trends and how Experian data helps predict housing risk and demand.

Since 1996, The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued more than 27 million individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) –⁠ a 9-digit number used by individuals who are required to file or report taxes in the United States but are not eligible to obtain a Social Security number (SSN). Across the country, ITIN holders are actively contributing to their communities and the U.S. financial system. They pay bills, build businesses, contribute billions in taxes and manage their finances responsibly. Yet despite their clear engagement, many remain underrepresented within traditional lending models.  Lenders have a meaningful opportunity to bridge the gap between intention and impact. By rethinking how ITIN consumers are evaluated and supported, financial institutions can: Reduce barriers that have historically held capable borrowers back Build products that reflect real borrower needs Foster trust and strengthen community relationships Drive sustainable, responsible growth Our latest white paper takes a more holistic look at ITIN consumers, highlighting their credit behaviors, performance patterns and long-term growth potential. The findings reveal a population that is not only financially engaged, but also demonstrating signs of ongoing stability and mobility. A few takeaways include: ITIN holders maintain a lower debt-to-income ratio than SSN consumers. ITIN holders exhibit fewer derogatory accounts (180–⁠400 days past due). After 12 months, 76.9% of ITIN holders remained current on trades, a rate 15% higher than SSN consumers. With deeper insight into this segment, lenders can make more informed, inclusive decisions. Read the full white paper to uncover the trends and opportunities shaping the future of ITIN lending. Download white paper

Growth, risk and the rise of "hidden" business accounts As inflation remains elevated and early signs of labor market cooling emerge, the credit card landscape is entering its next phase. Over the past few weeks, policy actions and discussions around potential interest-rate caps have driven increased uncertainty across the credit card industry and broader global markets. Lenders face a careful balancing act: capturing growth opportunities while maintaining disciplined risk oversight. Our second annual State of Credit Cards Report explores the macroeconomic forces influencing the market, key shifts in originations and delinquency trends, and lender mix. New this year, the report also digs into an often‑overlooked segment: business accounts hidden inside consumer credit card portfolios. Additionally, the report offers actionable strategies to help lenders segment risk and drive disciplined growth more effectively. Key insights include: 30+ DPD delinquency rates remained above pre-pandemic levels in 2025, underscoring the need for disciplined asset‑quality monitoring. Fintechs continue to gain ground, posting a 71% YOY increase in account originations.  Business accounts masked in the consumer credit card universe represent roughly 14% of balances and are more than 50% larger than the business card universe — a material segment with distinct risk and profitability dynamics that many lenders are not explicitly managing today. The report also outlines practical strategies to: Identify and segment business behavior within consumer portfolios. Align underwriting and account management with actual usage patterns. Capture targeted growth while protecting long‑term portfolio performance. Ready to dive deeper? Download the full 2026 State of Credit Cards Report to uncover insights that can help your organization manage risk more precisely and grow with confidence. Download report

Discover how Experian Verify’s real-time “Go Fetch” model enhances data integrity, reduces fraud, and redefines trust in income and employment verification amid rising digital threats.

Explore how modern tools like consumer-permissioned data, secure uploads, and AI are transforming income and employment verification—bridging gaps left by outdated manual processes and supporting today’s evolving workforce.

In today’s evolving labor market, the employment screening landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. The traditional methods of verifying income and employment are being reimagined to keep pace with economic shifts, digital expectations, and the growing complexity of workforce dynamics. As organizations contend with an influx of applications, resume discrepancies, and evolving workforce structures, the demand for accurate, secure, and efficient verifications has never been more pressing.  A Workforce in Transition  The current employment environment is marked by a distinct shift toward lower-wage industries, which now account for nearly 88% of job growth in 2024. White-collar job creation, in contrast, has declined. Industries such as retail, staffing, food services, education, and healthcare are driving employment gains, while sectors like technology and professional services experience stagnation or contraction. (Experian, 2024)  Geographically, unemployment remains concentrated in regions impacted by remote work trends and industry-specific slowdowns. These changes in job distribution and employment types underscore the need for more adaptive and inclusive verification processes that can accommodate a broader spectrum of worker experiences—from traditional W-2 employees to gig economy participants.  The Verification Bottleneck  At the core of employment screening lies a critical step: verification. While often overlooked, verification has a profound impact on hiring outcomes, onboarding timelines, and organizational risk. The risks of poor verification—from hiring the wrong candidate to facing compliance pitfalls—are high. Resume inconsistencies are increasingly common, making robust verification processes essential to mitigate liability and protect organizational integrity.  Recruiters are also grappling with scale. Many employers report receiving thousands of applications, often from automated tools, creating noise and reducing the signal necessary to identify truly qualified candidates. In high-volume hiring environments, the absence of efficient screening tools can quickly lead to operational inefficiencies and hiring errors.  Modernizing Research Verifications  The industry is at an inflection point. Legacy methods of verification—manual phone calls, faxed documents, and mailed records—are no longer viable at scale. As a result, the sector has shifted toward instant digital verifications sourced directly from employers and payroll providers. These methods, supplemented by consumer-permissioned workflows, offer a scalable and more accurate alternative.  However, not all employees can be verified through instant or consumer-permissioned methods, especially those in small businesses or with multiple jobs. This is where research verifications, long considered a fallback option, are being reengineered.  Today, a digital-first approach is transforming research verifications into a strategic asset. This evolution includes multi-channel support: call centers for live interactions, online smart forms for asynchronous data entry, and conversational AI that guides users through the process intuitively. Such flexibility ensures that verifications are accessible, efficient, and reflective of how people communicate in the digital age.  Consumer Engagement as a Verification Tool  A key innovation in the verification space is the rise of consumer-permissioned access. These workflows empower individuals to authorize access to their payroll or earnings data directly—often through secure, embedded interfaces or mobile prompts. This not only broadens the verification net to include gig workers and contractors but also strengthens data integrity by retrieving information from the source.  Interestingly, many hourly and gig workers are already familiar with this kind of access, given their reliance on apps for earnings and scheduling. As comfort with these tools grows, so too does the potential for consumer-permissioned verifications to become a mainstream standard.  Nevertheless, it's important to acknowledge that not every candidate is willing or able to engage with digital verification methods. That’s why the ongoing development of research verifications remains critical. Ensuring that all candidates—regardless of role, industry, or digital fluency—can be verified effectively is essential to creating an equitable hiring process.  Toward a Holistic Verification Ecosystem  Looking ahead, the employment screening industry is poised to adopt a more comprehensive approach. Income and employment verifications are no longer standalone processes—they are part of a broader ecosystem that includes identity verification, fraud prevention, and compliance validation. Integrating these components through automation and modern digital infrastructure enhances both security and decision-making.  Organizations now play dual roles in this ecosystem: as both verifiers (providing information about current and former employees) and consumers (seeking data for new hires). This dual perspective fosters greater alignment around the need for transparency, efficiency, and data integrity.  The vision for the future is clear. Verification processes must be fast, flexible, and fair—capable of handling the complexity of today’s labor market without compromising on accuracy or candidate experience. By reimagining research verifications through the lens of innovation and inclusivity, the industry is not only solving present-day problems but also laying the groundwork for a more agile and resilient workforce infrastructure.   Explore the Future of Employment Screening  Want to dive deeper into the trends and innovations shaping modern employment verification? Watch the full webinar, Reimagining Research Verifications for Employment Screening, featuring industry experts from Experian. 👉 Watch the webinar now  Troy Huff, Director of Product Management, Experian Employer Services, Reimagining Research Verifications for Employment Screening webinar, 2024. According to Hoff, in 2024, nearly 88% of new job growth occurred in lower-wage industries, highlighting a significant shift in workforce composition post-COVID.         

Explore how Experian Verify™ uses multi-layered identity pinning to enhance data accuracy and fight synthetic fraud in today’s evolving verification landscape. Learn why dual PIN validation is becoming essential for secure, real-time income and employment verification.

Rising late-stage mortgage delinquencies signal hidden risk in 2025. Learn how lenders can identify early warning signs and manage mortgage and HELOC risk proactively.

Discover how Experian’s Rent Bureau and Observed Data can transform your mortgage lead strategy by predicting income, risk, and readiness earlier in the funnel—improving targeting and reducing acquisition costs.

With the Fed initiating rate reductions, the housing market is entering a new phase. Learn what mortgage lenders must know about affordability, borrower behavior, and emerging opportunities.

Direct mail is reshaping mortgage and home equity lending in 2025. See why prescreen targeting, data-driven personalization, and market exits are creating new growth opportunities for lenders.

Unlock the future of fintech by exploring how alternative data is reshaping decision-making and growth strategies.

Discover how Freddie Mac’s LLDC and Experian’s MLP dataset are revolutionizing MBS analytics with real-time loan-level data. Learn how enhanced borrower and property insights improve pricing, reduce risk, and unlock new investment strategies in mortgage-backed securities.

Addressing where renters struggle mostRental affordability is diverging fast across the U.S. See which states and cities face the biggest rent increases, rising rent-to-income ratios, and shifting renter pressure.

Learn how alternative data enhances credit decisioning by giving lenders deeper visibility into consumer financial behavior and improving access to credit for more consumers.