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Men born in the years 1980–84 who had a first incarceration lasting more than 6 months and ending at age 19 or older were much less likely to have jobs after their incarceration than other men. A little over one-third of these men had a job in the first few weeks after their release from jail or prison. By about 10 to 12 weeks after their release, about half had jobs. From then to week 78 (that is, a year and a half) after release, the share with jobs ranged between 50 and 58 percent.
Week | Not arrested, not incarcerated | Arrested, not incarcerated | Incarcerated 6 months or less | Incarcerated more than 6 months |
---|---|---|---|---|
Week 1 |
82.1% | 70.0% | 66.2% | 33.9% |
Week 2 |
82.2 | 70.5 | 66.4 | 39.3 |
Week 3 |
82.2 | 71.1 | 68.4 | 40.9 |
Week 4 |
82.3 | 70.7 | 70.3 | 42.9 |
Week 5 |
82.4 | 71.1 | 68.8 | 44.5 |
Week 6 |
82.7 | 71.8 | 68.1 | 45.7 |
Week 7 |
82.4 | 70.6 | 70.0 | 45.6 |
Week 8 |
82.4 | 70.9 | 69.0 | 47.5 |
Week 9 |
83.0 | 70.3 | 67.8 | 47.8 |
Week 10 |
83.0 | 71.3 | 69.4 | 50.3 |
Week 11 |
83.1 | 71.2 | 69.8 | 51.8 |
Week 12 |
83.0 | 72.2 | 68.8 | 50.8 |
Week 13 |
83.6 | 71.2 | 68.5 | 51.1 |
Week 14 |
83.5 | 71.3 | 67.8 | 52.3 |
Week 15 |
84.2 | 71.0 | 68.1 | 53.4 |
Week 16 |
84.1 | 70.2 | 67.0 | 53.0 |
Week 17 |
84.5 | 70.2 | 66.0 | 53.1 |
Week 18 |
84.5 | 70.4 | 66.1 | 49.9 |
Week 19 |
84.5 | 70.5 | 68.0 | 53.3 |
Week 20 |
84.6 | 69.6 | 67.5 | 53.8 |
Week 21 |
84.5 | 69.9 | 71.3 | 54.3 |
Week 22 |
84.6 | 68.9 | 70.8 | 52.5 |
Week 23 |
84.6 | 69.6 | 70.5 | 51.8 |
Week 24 |
85.0 | 71.3 | 68.1 | 51.0 |
Week 25 |
84.8 | 70.0 | 72.5 | 51.7 |
Week 26 |
84.8 | 69.5 | 72.7 | 51.0 |
Week 27 |
84.1 | 69.2 | 72.1 | 52.8 |
Week 28 |
84.5 | 69.3 | 71.4 | 54.0 |
Week 29 |
84.3 | 68.9 | 70.2 | 53.7 |
Week 30 |
84.8 | 69.5 | 69.5 | 55.6 |
Week 31 |
84.7 | 70.2 | 68.9 | 55.6 |
Week 32 |
84.8 | 71.9 | 66.7 | 55.9 |
Week 33 |
84.8 | 70.8 | 66.3 | 55.3 |
Week 34 |
84.9 | 71.0 | 66.3 | 56.1 |
Week 35 |
85.1 | 71.1 | 67.0 | 53.3 |
Week 36 |
85.2 | 72.0 | 67.9 | 54.1 |
Week 37 |
85.5 | 73.0 | 70.4 | 54.1 |
Week 38 |
85.5 | 72.7 | 70.7 | 55.0 |
Week 39 |
85.6 | 71.3 | 70.3 | 55.2 |
Week 40 |
85.0 | 72.0 | 71.1 | 54.0 |
Week 41 |
84.4 | 72.8 | 69.6 | 55.4 |
Week 42 |
85.2 | 73.4 | 70.0 | 55.9 |
Week 43 |
85.5 | 73.9 | 70.7 | 54.3 |
Week 44 |
85.5 | 74.6 | 70.9 | 54.3 |
Week 45 |
85.4 | 75.7 | 71.5 | 55.1 |
Week 46 |
85.4 | 75.8 | 71.0 | 54.1 |
Week 47 |
85.4 | 75.9 | 70.8 | 55.5 |
Week 48 |
85.6 | 75.9 | 69.8 | 53.5 |
Week 49 |
85.5 | 76.8 | 69.6 | 54.1 |
Week 50 |
85.4 | 76.3 | 68.0 | 54.8 |
Week 51 |
85.3 | 76.5 | 67.7 | 53.8 |
Week 52 |
85.9 | 76.1 | 68.6 | 53.9 |
Week 53 |
86.1 | 75.8 | 69.6 | 53.2 |
Week 54 |
86.1 | 75.9 | 67.2 | 52.7 |
Week 55 |
85.4 | 74.7 | 67.8 | 55.1 |
Week 56 |
85.3 | 74.0 | 68.9 | 56.6 |
Week 57 |
86.0 | 74.1 | 70.1 | 55.8 |
Week 58 |
85.7 | 74.3 | 71.1 | 56.8 |
Week 59 |
85.7 | 73.8 | 71.3 | 55.9 |
Week 60 |
86.2 | 74.1 | 72.6 | 55.9 |
Week 61 |
86.1 | 74.3 | 72.9 | 56.0 |
Week 62 |
86.0 | 73.3 | 72.4 | 56.2 |
Week 63 |
86.5 | 74.5 | 71.3 | 55.3 |
Week 64 |
86.3 | 73.4 | 72.8 | 55.1 |
Week 65 |
86.4 | 74.0 | 70.5 | 54.8 |
Week 66 |
86.5 | 74.5 | 70.6 | 54.7 |
Week 67 |
87.1 | 75.0 | 70.5 | 55.7 |
Week 68 |
87.1 | 74.8 | 71.2 | 55.1 |
Week 69 |
86.6 | 74.2 | 71.3 | 55.5 |
Week 70 |
86.9 | 74.3 | 71.2 | 53.9 |
Week 71 |
87.0 | 74.3 | 74.7 | 55.7 |
Week 72 |
87.1 | 73.5 | 74.5 | 55.5 |
Week 73 |
86.6 | 73.2 | 73.8 | 55.7 |
Week 74 |
87.0 | 74.5 | 74.2 | 55.8 |
Week 75 |
86.7 | 74.7 | 75.3 | 56.9 |
Week 76 |
86.6 | 74.6 | 75.2 | 57.5 |
Week 77 |
86.9 | 75.5 | 74.9 | 57.0 |
Week 78 |
87.0 | 75.1 | 74.0 | 55.8 |
By comparison, about two-thirds of men who were incarcerated for 6 months or less had a job in their first few weeks after release. The share with jobs ranged between 66 and 75 percent for the first 78 weeks after release. Men who were arrested but never incarcerated at age 19 or older were about as likely to have jobs after their arrest as men who were incarcerated for 6 months or less.
Among men who had never been arrested or incarcerated, the share who were employed ranged between 82 and 87 percent each week after age 23.
The likelihood of being arrested or incarcerated differs by race and ethnicity. Black men were much more likely to have been incarcerated for more than 6 months (13.6 percent) than nonblack, non-Hispanic men (4.1 percent) or Hispanic men (6.4 percent).
Arrest or incarceration history | Nonblack, non-Hispanic | Black, non-Hispanic | Hispanic |
---|---|---|---|
Not arrested, not incarcerated |
68.3% | 54.9% | 63.0% |
Arrested, not incarcerated |
20.7 | 25.4 | 22.8 |
Incarcerated 6 months or less |
6.9 | 6.2 | 7.8 |
Incarcerated more than 6 months |
4.1 | 13.6 | 6.4 |
These data are from the National Longitudinal Surveys program. The data examined here are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a nationally representative sample of 8,984 men and women born from 1980 to 1984 and living in the United States at the time of the first survey in 1997. These people were ages 30 to 36 in the 2015–16 interviews.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment of young men after arrest or incarceration at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/employment-of-young-men-after-arrest-or-incarceration.htm (visited October 31, 2024).