 TITLE: Does Being Unemployed Hurt Your Credit Scores? CONTENT: Is Unemployment Listed on My Credit Report?\n-------------------------------------------\nWhile you may see your current or past employer listed in your credit reports, your files do not record any periods of unemployment. The only reason an employer would show in your reports is if you listed who you worked for on a previous application for credit. When creditors submit records of loan applications to credit bureaus, that employment information is recorded and saved in your file, but is not used to calculate your scores.\nCredit scores are based on the data compiled in your credit reports by the three main credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). Your creditors, and anyone you've applied for credit with, report this data to the bureaus, and scoring systems such as FICO use it to generate a three-digit credit score.\nYour credit reports show how you've managed borrowing and repaying money in the past. Information in your report includes:\n*   Records of loans and credit card accounts you've opened. This includes the dates they were opened (and closed, if applicable) and the creditor the account is with. Credit reports also contain information about credit applications (inquiries), whether you were approved or not.\n*   A record of your payment history on your accounts, including late and missed payments. This information shows how reliably you pay back your debts, and is the most important factor in your credit scores.\n*   Records of certain legal events related to your debt, including foreclosures, bankruptcies and repossessions.\n*   Any records of debts you've failed to repay and have been sent to collections agencies or \"charged off\" by a lender.\nCredit reports do not contain any information about your employment status, income, bank account balances or other assets. Additionally, your credit reports won't contain any record of applications for unemployment benefits. That information is not a part of the public record, and can only be shared by unemployment agencies in a few situations. END