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Stigma of Criminal Record Fades as U.S. Employers Get Desperate

  • Companies recruit ex-inmates to fill carpentry, factory jobs
  • ‘We have a huge labor shortage,’ CEO of homebuilder group says
A job seeker fills out a job application in the lobby during a Job News USA career fair in Overland Park, Kansas, U.S., on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Applications for U.S. jobless benefits rebounded last week from a 44-year low, returning to a range that still shows strength in the labor market.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

Shea Rochester, who once spent a month in jail on an assault charge that was later dropped, is now wanted in a different way.

After a few months of job hunting, the 32-year-old recently got two offers in the same week. He accepted a $14.48-an-hour position at a Georgia factory that makes shortening and cooking oil.