Today, 17 percent of hiring managers only recruit individuals with active clearances for their open positions that require a clearance, while more than half (56 percent) note that the majority of professionals must have current clearances, the release says. Another 18 percent say that the minority of candidates have active clearances and just nine percent say they have no preference related to security clearance related to their hiring challenges.

 Hiring managers whose practices have not changed are firm in what’s needed on processing times. Nearly half (46 percent) say that final clearances would need to be received in one month or less for their firms to evaluate changing their recruiting practices, the study says.

Delays in obtaining clearances are also a burden borne by not only the employer but also the applicants. Some highly qualified applicants withdraw themselves from consideration due to wait times, and nearly half (48 percent) of hiring managers and recruiters say they’ve lost great candidates specifically due to wait times.