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Employment of young men after arrest or incarceration
May 20, 2019
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.
Percent of men born in 1980–84 who were employed in each week after arrest or incarceration or after age 23 if never arrested or incarcerated
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).
Percent of men born in 1980–84 who were ever arrested or incarcerated at age 19 or older, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
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.
United States Department of Labor
