The U.S. economy has a talent pipeline challenge. Employers in several industries are struggling to fill job vacancies, and the gap between the demand for labor and the supply of talent is likely to grow. In the next decade, the labor supply is projected to shrink, while recent federal investments are expected to spur the private-sector creation of about 10 million new jobs.
A new report from Jobs for the Future contends we can ease critical workforce shortages, starting immediately, if we choose to give people with records of arrest, conviction, or incarceration a fair chance to work in a quality job.
Specifically, the report aims to “normalize opportunity” for people with criminal records, identifying policy solutions to fill critical workforce gaps and build a more equitable and just society.
To illustrate the urgent need for policy reform and how specific policies affect individuals, the study features firsthand accounts of people like Aminah Elster, a California woman whose journey of reentry into her community after a period of incarceration was affected, both negatively and positively, by local, state, and federal policies.
The policy recommendations presented in the report are shaped and informed by Elster and other people with expertise from lived experiences navigating the U.S. criminal, judicial, and corrections systems.