The Employability of Returning Citizens - Key to Neighborhood Revitalization

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

Returning citizens—people returning home after serving prison terms—face severe barriers to employment that strongly affect low-income neighborhoods. The commentary explains how high concentrations of returning citizens coincide with very high local unemployment rates, limited education and skills, and weak job-readiness upon release. It highlights the scale of release flows, the concentration of risk in the poorest areas, and evidence of worse employment outcomes even when employed, along with research on contributing structural and skill-related obstacles.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

The Problem

Barriers to Gainful Employment

# The Employability of Returning CitizensIs Key to Neighborhood Revitalization Many roadblocks stand between a job and those coming home from prison 0.Emre Ergungor and Nelson Oliver One problem lowincome communities may face in trying to revitalize is dealing with a high share of residents who arereturning home after serving prison terms.Returning citizens often concentrate in lowincome areas,and they typicallylack the education and skills needed to find jobs.This Commentary reviews these and other barriers to employment,estimates the degree of unemployment,and describes some solutions emerging for this population. "The best antipoverty program,"the cliché goes,“is a goodjob."But for people who have been in prison,jobs-letalone good ones-are hard to come by.(Note that agenciesworking to assist those who have served prison terms preferto use the term“returning citizens”when referring to thispopulation,a practice we will observe.) Nobody really knows what the current unemploymentrate is among returning citizens,but we do know thatunemployment is extremely high in neighborhoods wherereturning citizens are concentrated.For example,in theCentral,Hough,Glenville,Fairfax,and Mount Pleasantneighborhoods of Cleveland,which receive about 80percent of the people released from prison in CuyahogaCounty,the overall unemployment rate is 27 percent (37percent in Central),according to the 2007-2011 AmericanCommunity Survey(ACS).Among the lowest-incomepopulation,the group in which these citizens nearly alwaysfall,the unemployment rate is 50 percent. The employment challenges of returning citizens are animportant economic development issue in many low-income communities throughout the country.In the fiveneighborhoods just mentioned,for example,approximately 37,000 people are in the labor force(37 percent of thepopulation,excluding discouraged workers and those ondisability)and 9,900 are unemployed,according to the ACS.Every year,approximately 3,000 citizens who completetheir incarceration terms return to these neighborhoods,according to our community contacts and Ohio Departmentof Corrections data. In other words,a population that is nearly 8 percent of thelabor force is added every year to an already distressedlabor market.If those who have served their time in prisonare not job-ready when they are released,these distressedareas may continue to struggle. ## The Problem While no one knows for sure how many people in the U.S.have felony convictions,the number is surely significant.The U.S.Department ofJustice notes that it can onlyestimate the number of people (currently living)who haveserved time in a state or federal prison.According to themost recent data(year-end 2001),that number was 1in 37U.S.adults,which amounted to more than 5.6 millionindividuals.The same ratio applied to our currentpopulation would imply 6.6 million adults. The challenge for communities is not just that the numbersare large but that returning citizens are also concentratedin the poorest areas.Each year since 2007,for example,more than 720,000 inmates have been released nationwidefrom state and federal prisons,and around 5,000 to 7,000of them have likely returned to the poorest neighborhoodsof Cuyahoga County.Cleveland's Central neighborhood,which has a population of approximately 12,000,is expectedto absorb 500 to 600 of these newly released citizens everyyear,according to nonprofits operating in the area. Achieving stable employment can be a daunting task forreturning citizens,especially in a tough job market.Figure 1llustrates the impact of crime on chances of employment.Because employment statistics for returning citizens arenot available at the national level (nor at the local levelin many states),the figure compares the unemploymentrate of convicts on probation in New York State to theunemployment rate of U.S.residents with less than a highschool diploma. People with criminal records are typically less educated,sothe less-educated populatio

FAQs

Why is employability of returning citizens important for neighborhood revitalization?

Because returning citizens are concentrated in low-income areas where unemployment is extremely high, stable job access directly influences the economic health of those neighborhoods.

What unemployment levels are associated with returning citizens and the most affected communities?

The text cites unemployment rates of 27% overall and 50% among the lowest-income population in neighborhoods receiving many returning citizens, alongside estimates of high unemployment for those without high-school education or with prison experience.

What are the main barriers preventing returning citizens from getting jobs?

Key barriers include lack of education and job-relevant skills, weak work experience, and soft skills such as reliability and punctuality, alongside limited opportunities for upward mobility even when employed.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah