(Co-authored with Sarah Riley, Jess Zhang, and Jim Parsons for the Vera Institute.)

It is widely recognized, if underappreciated, that incarceration physically separates people from their loved ones and communities. But there is far less attention paid to the intentional disappearance of incarcerated people from government statistics; this pernicious exclusion has profound ripple effects. Employment statistics are one key instance. Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases an official employment report. This report details changes in average hourly earnings, industryspecific employment trends, and fluctuations in unemployment rates across racial groups. Each of these statistics disregards everyone in jail or prison, a population disproportionately made up of Black people and low-wage workers. These metrics matter. They provide a key frame for understanding economic opportunity and racial equity in the United States.

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The systematic exclusion of incarcerated people from official employment statistics creates a false impression of economic well-being and racial equity in the United States. This brief aims to rectify the invisibility of incarcerated people in official unemployment statistics by introducing the concept of an expanded unemployment rate. Vera provides previously unavailable statistics at the state and national levels and discusses their implications. In doing so, this brief provides a more accurate measure of racial and economic inequality.

For more information, read the report.