About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 21, Research Highlight 1

There are barriers at the individual level that impede released individuals' efforts to secure and maintain employment.

Arrest and incarceration have some impact on the employment rates, and especially on the earnings, of people released from prison and jail. [1]   The dearth of available jobs in certain neighborhoods and the stigma of having a criminal record both hinder the employability and earnings capacities of people released from prison or jail; surveys have found that 60 percent of employers, upon initial consideration, would not hire an individual released from prison or jail. [2]   It is worth noting that the employment rates and earnings histories of individuals in prison and jail were often low before incarceration as a result of limited education experiences, low skill levels, and the prevalence of physical and mental health problems; a criminal record and recent incarceration only exacerbate these employment challenges. [3]  

  1. Richard Freeman, "Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youth" in George E. Peterson and Wayne Vroman (eds.), Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunities (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press, 1992); Jeffrey Grogger, "The Effect of Arrests on the Employment and Earnings of Young Men," Quarterly Journal of Economics 110, no.1 (1995): 51 - 71; and Jeffrey Kling, "The Effect of Prison Sentence Length on the Subsequent Employment and Earnings of Criminal Defendants," Woodrow Wilson School Discussion Papers in Economics 208 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999). back
  2. Harry Holzer, Steven Raphael, and Michael A. Stoll, Employment Barriers Facing Ex-Offenders (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2003); Fredrik Andersson, Harry J. Holzer, and Julia I. Lane, The Interaction of Workers and Firms in the Low-Wage Labor Market (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2002); Harry Holzer, Steven Raphael, and Michael A. Stoll, Can Employers Play a More Positive Role in Prisoner Reentry? (Washington DC: The Urban Institute, 2002). back
  3. Ibid; Jeremy Travis, Amy L. Solomon and Michelle Waul, From Prison to Home: the Dimensions and Consequences of Prisoner Reentry (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2001). back
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