A few months ago Harvard research highlighted the sheer number of people who get overlooked for vacancies on account of things that are generally unrelated to the job at hand.  For instance, those with disabilities or mental health issues were included, as were military veterans or the homeless.

Also among the 27 million or so people in America that were falling through the cracks were those with a criminal record.  It’s a picture reaffirmed in recent research from the University of Minnesota, which highlights the difficulties those with a criminal record have finding employment, even after their sentence has been fulfilled.

Frozen out

The researchers looked at state-level data from between 1988 to 2010 to identify people with a criminal record but whose incarceration, parole, or probation has finished.

They found a clear link between the number of adults with a criminal record in a state and the number of adults without work.  Indeed, a 1% rise in the number of those with a criminal record was linked with a 0.3% rise in unemployment.

“The number of people with criminal records in our society has reached a point where excluding them from stable work impacts the overall economic well-being of both the individual and society as a whole,” the researchers say. “With research indicating that job stability is a robust indicator of crime, it is likely counterproductive in terms of public safety to limit the job opportunities of people who have completed their sentences.”

A sizeable problem

As the Harvard research demonstrated, this problem is significant, with around 14.5 million Americans having a criminal record as of 2010.  This represents over 6.2% of the adult population of the country, which has risen considerably in recent decades.

“These are people who’ve done everything we’ve asked them to and tried to stay on the straight and narrow,” they continue. “They are there in the community, trying to make a living, trying to contribute, and they face big barriers.”

The researchers argue that one’s conviction history is more relevant to the job search process than one’s incarceration history.  This is because of the growing popularity of background checks by companies as part of the recruitment process.  The study suggests that historic crimes can be a significant barrier to success in the labor market.

“A lot of occupations have bars against people with any record and there may be good reasons for that in some jobs, but if we’re talking about someone who was convicted in the 90s for marijuana use, which is now legal in a lot of places—is that really somebody we want to keep out of a job for decades?” the authors explain.

They go on to say that there is currently a general lack of data surrounding the impact of a criminal record on one’s chances of gaining meaningful employment and they hope that their work both fills the gap somewhat and encourages additional conversations about policy changes to help people get back into the labor force.

“It raises questions, like ‘are these barriers productive?’ ‘Are these barriers doing more harm than good?’ And then, ‘how can you try to bring change?'” the researchers conclude.