Policymakers have long sought to promote employment among released prisoners, but little is known about employment after prison in California. At a recent virtual event, PPIC researcher Heather Harris outlined key findings from a report that provides new information about the employment histories of people who were released from California prisons between 2015 and 2019.
“The key assumption underlying this research is that employment reduces recidivism,” said Harris. “We need to know what employment looks like after prison in California, and until now, we didn’t have that information.”
The report finds that nearly half of released prisoners never worked or worked only in prison. Many factors can affect employment rates; under-the-table and gig work do not show up in the official data, and post-prison employment is made more challenging by regulatory barriers and employer reluctance to hire people with criminal histories.
But pre-trial and post-sentencing incarceration is the most important factor: Harris indicated that “incarceration for criminal activity” largely explains why people did not work. People can be arrested many times and incarcerated in jail or prison. In short, they are more likely to be incarcerated than to be employed, both before and after prison.
Most people tend to have temporary jobs and to do restaurant, retail, and clerical work. Given the prevalence of temporary employment—which increased after prison—it may not be surprising that people worked inconsistently, and that earnings were low: “Very few released prisoners earned above the poverty threshold in any year,” Harris said.
Working before prison and working more consistently are associated with a higher likelihood of employment after prison. Participation in some prison programs—including substance use disorder treatment and trades-based training—are associated with greater likelihood of post-prison employment.
Harris stressed that these findings are not causal, and that employment and other resources available to released prisoners vary widely across counties. But creating more reentry programs and workforce development programs could help.
“One encouraging thing is that people’s capacity for work can be built while they are in prison,” Harris said. One strategy would be to ensure that prison jobs last longer—among the sample in this research, most jobs lasted only about a month.
This research also highlights questions that future research could address. For example, assessing the necessity of state employment regulations and their impact on released prisoners could help policymakers reduce barriers to work. Ongoing evaluation to see if programs boost employment and reduce recidivism could also help. “We have a lot of programs in California that look promising but we need more evidence about them,” said Harris.
