I'm sure you've seen these signs around. Help wanted. There's job openings right now like never before.

U.S. employers again posted a record number of job openings.

It sounds like something to celebrate. Instead, businesses say they're having trouble filling the jobs.

So many companies are turning to a class of people long shunned by society, people convicted of felonies,

and a lot of employers are realizing something they would have never really considered before.

Those folks can work as honestly and hard as those who have never spent a day in prison.

I'm Gustavo Ariano. You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the LA Times.

It's Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

Today, we examine one effect the pandemic has had in our shifting labor market.

Who's hiring? Who's getting hired? And how that's changing the American workplace?

We'll hear from L.A. Times business reporter Don Lee, who has written about the issue. and we'll also hear from someone who's working to connect formerly incarcerated people with jobs.

There's about 20 million people in the United States with felony records and unemployment

rates among the formerly incarcerated is especially high,

27% a few years ago per the prison policy initiative.

Compare that with the American unemployment rate around that time, which was less than 4%.

The stigma of a criminal record has long influenced this reality,

but with the great resignation unfolding before us,

the situation for these folks seems to be looking up.

Don Lee covers the U.S. and global economy out of Washington, D.C.,

and recently wrote a story about all this.

Don, welcome to the Times.

Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

...