With the U.S. unemployment rate falling below what the Federal Reserve considers full employment, many companies are finding it difficult to fill job openings they have as a result of the continuing recovery from the Great Recession.
Industries with severe worker shortages, such as construction, are recruiting inmates who have taken technical job skills classes while behind bars. One estimate pegs the number of Americans of working age with felony convictions between 14 million and 15.8 million, more than enough to fill the 5.7 million job openings across the nation.
Would you hire a convicted felon? Under what conditions?
