When I got my pass, about a year ago, I had to supply 2 references, a five year education/employment history and declare any time that I had been out of education/employment for over 2 weeks. The references should be able to back up these periods of unemployment.
It is hard to get to places you shouldn't be in at airports. There are hundreds of security doors. I problably swipe my card at least 50 times a day. The card is looking a bit taty, might see if I can get a new one tomorrow...