NCJ Number
207494
Date Published
January 2002
Length
46 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a survey to determine employer demand for ex-offenders, firm and job characteristics related to employer hiring of ex-offenders, and the extent to which employers check criminal backgrounds of job applicants.
Abstract
Just over 3,000 employers were surveyed between June 1992 and May 1994 in the Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Telephone surveys were conducted with individuals responsible for hiring. For the most recently filled job, the respondents were asked whether they would have accepted an applicant who had a criminal record. Response options allowed for varying levels of willingness to hire ex-offenders. Only 38 percent of employers indicated they definitely or probably would consider an applicant with a criminal history, with 12.5 percent stating they definitely would consider hiring an ex-offender. Over 60 percent of the employers reported they would "probably not" or "definitely not" be willing to hire an applicant with a criminal record. The employers surveyed had recently hired low-skill workers (those most likely to hire ex-offenders), suggesting that criminal record is a significant disqualifying factor for the large majority of employers, and this reluctance is apparently uniform across the metropolitan areas surveyed. Approximately 32 percent of the employers reported that they always check for criminal backgrounds of job applicants; 17 percent sometimes check; and 51 percent never check for criminal backgrounds. Among employers willing to hire ex-offenders, manufacturing firms were disproportionately represented; and establishments in the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors and the services sector were under-represented. The employers least willing to hire ex-offenders offered jobs with frequent customer contact. The implications of these findings are discussed. 7 tables and 25 references