The Hidden Cost of a Criminal Record

by Sydney Bleh

For millions of Americans, having a criminal record can feel like a life sentence. In Michigan, there are 32,411 people in prison as of December 2025. That is enough to fill about one third of the Big House in Ann Arbor.  

People who have been in prison often have difficulty finding steady jobs because of ongoing stigma. According to law professor J.J. Prescott, an estimated 80 million Americans have a criminal record. That is nearly one in three adults. 

Expungement, which means removing a criminal record, can help people with past convictions get more job opportunities. This matters because clearing criminal records can help people get more job opportunities and lessen the lasting challenges of having been in prison.  

The legal system is harder on some groups, specifically for Black individuals looking for jobs. The Thurgood Marshall Institute reports that Black people make up 38% of people in prison and 30% of those on parole, but only 13% of the total U.S. population.  

The racial differences between those with a criminal record also appear in the job market. Devah Pager’s study, “The Mark of a Criminal Record,” found that Black applicants with a criminal record receive far fewer callbacks than white applicants with a record. Her research also found that white applicants with a felony record were still more likely to receive callbacks than Black applicants with no criminal record at all. 

Pager’s study also found that having a criminal record lowered job chances for both Black and white applicants, but it hurt Black applicants much more. For white applicants, job callbacks dropped from about 34% to 14% after a conviction, while Black applicants dropped from 14% to just 5%. Although this study is more than 20 years old, newer research shows racial bias and criminal records still make it harder for Black job seekers to get hired. 

In the 2019 book On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration, researchers build on Devah Pager’s work. The authors note that some employers may use race as a shortcut to guess whether someone has a criminal record. As a result, Black job seekers are often judged unfairly before they even get a chance to apply, which makes finding work much harder. 

Even when hired, many Black Michigan residents that were previously incarcerated are trapped with few job opportunities. A study of Professor Francis Prior’s shows Black applicants that were formerly incarcerated face a second-class labor market with low pay, no benefits, and unstable hours. 

These second-classjobs, which often include fast food or custodial service, provide little economic support and prevent stability for many workers. However, these are the only options as these jobs are less likely to perform background checks. As a master’s student studying prisoner reentry, I have seen through research and working with people affected by the system, how a criminal record can keep hurting people long after they have served their time.  

This cycle only reinforces economic insecurity. Expungement can help to break the cycle so black people who have records have a chance at getting jobs.This opportunity for employment also helps the economy. A 2016 study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) found that the U.S. loses $78 to $87 billion in gross domestic product each year by not hiring people with criminal records. Researchers Cherrie Bucknor and Alan Barber from CEPR used labor market and Bureau of Justice Statistics data to study how criminal records affect employment. They found that lower employment rates among formerly incarcerated people lead to lost labor, which hurts the economy.  

Michigan has taken steps to make it easier for people with criminal records to get hired. The “Clean Slate Act,” passed in 2023, allows some criminal records to be cleared automatically. The Michigan State Police use a computer program to check if someone is eligible. 

Before this law, many barriers prevented people from clearing their records. The process was complicated, involving confusing forms, fees, and court appearances. J.J. Prescott, the law professor mentioned earlier, conducted research using court data. He found that only 6.5% of people eligible for expungement actually received it within the first five years. This shows that even when people qualify, the process is difficult to navigate and keeps most from successfully clearing their records. 

Now, the Clean Slate Act makes it easier for people to get their records cleared for certain crimes, helping them find jobs.The law does not apply to some serious crimes like an assault or human trafficking. For small crimes (misdemeanors), people must wait seven years for automatic expungement. For more serious crimes (felonies), they must wait ten years, and only up to two felonies can be cleared.  

This law has helped many people get a fresh start. Before the Clean Slate Act, a Cato Institute analysis found that only about 2,000 to 3,000 people in Michigan got their records expunged each year. At the same time, roughly 300,000 new criminal convictions are added annually. 

The Clean Slate Act has helped many people rejoin society with hope. Before the law, Cato Institute authors J.J. Prescot and Sonja Starr account that only 2,000 to 3,000 people in Michigan got expungement each year, but about 300,000 new convictions were added every year. 

Michigan still has more to fix automatic expungement has helped many people, but some who should qualify are left. Many records do not have the special codes needed in the database, which can prevent eligible convictions from being cleared. Project Clean Slate, a Detroit group, says over 234,000 convictions are missing the right codes. Michigan cannot offer a true clean slate if its data is not correct.

Michiganders know people deserve a second chance, but the promise is not fully kept. To help both the economy and racial equality, Michigan needs to address the issues with the Clean Slate Act. This means making the computer program more accurate and having people check the results. The Clean Slate Act can change lives and help communities, but only if the system is improved.  

Sydney Bleh holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Ohio University, with research interest in prisoner reentry.