Employment of individuals after release from Illinois prisons: Employee characteristics, occupations, and wages

Abstract

This publication won the 2024 Douglas Yearwood Award for Research/Policy Analysis. Employment is an important factor in successful community reintegration after prison release and is associated with lower rates of recidivism. To examine employment following release from Illinois prisons, we matched state prison records to state employment data. Our sample was made up of 4,430 persons who exited prison in 2018 and we tracked their employment through 2021. We found after release from prison, those in our sample had an unemployment rate of 46%. The average income was lower than the federal poverty level and hourly wages were lower than the state minimum wage. We found a higher proportion of Black persons than persons of other races were unemployed and had lower wages after release. Women in our sample were slightly more likely to be employed, but earned less, than men. We found participants in IDOC Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center and Illinois work release centers were more likely to have longer employment and higher wages post-release. Therefore, the state, as well as local communities, should invest in vocational and educational programming, as well as reentry support, for those leaving prison to improve employment outcomes. [Author Abstract]