As employers rush to fill empty positions and beat out other organizations for top talent, workers with criminal backgrounds are ready to work, if employers are willing to hire.
Nearly 78 million people have a criminal record and 700,000 individuals are released from prison each year, according to the Brennan Center For Justice, a law and public policy nonprofit. But with their prior convictions in the past, finding an opportunity for their future is especially challenging: the unemployment rate for those with a criminal record is 27%, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, compared to the current national unemployment rate of 5.2%.
